The police officer, whose actions resulted in the death of a colleague after a police chase involving a hit and run driver, said he was unable to prevent the accident from occurring and had not thought it was feasible at the time of the incident.
On the day in question in April 2018, the police officer, who was driving a police van as part of the chase, had been unable to brake in time, failing to prevent a collision with another police vehicle. The subsequent crash left the driver of the second vehicle dead at the scene, and the passenger, another police officer, hospitalised with serious injuries.
The crash happened after the driver of the other vehicle suddenly performed a U turn in the street after stopping to ask a witness if they had seen the fugitive driver. In the midst of performing the turn, the vehicle was struck by the police van at a speed of 156 km/h, according to a statement on Wednesday. The van’s speedometer at the time showed a speed of 130 km/h.
Experts called upon in court on Thursday agreed with the officer’s assessment of the situation, and explained it would have been virtually impossible to predict the other vehicle’s movements as the indicator had not been used. The police officer at the wheel of the van had attempted to avert the collision but did not have sufficient time to redirect the vehicle, thus failing to avoid the crash.
The fugitive driver who sparked the police chase will also face the court to ascertain his responsibility for the incident. The man had failed to respond to police requests to stop and instead sped off at speeds of up to 180 km/h, before hiding in a side street. He was later found to have had an approximate blood alcohol level of 0.77 grams per litre of blood.
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