Eight people were injured after the tyre of a car was shot by a gunman in a vehicle with a flashing blue light in Pietermaritzburg on Saturday, KwaZulu-Natal police said.
Superintendent Henry Budhram said a black Mazda heading towards Durban was being followed by a police collision-unit vehicle, when a black Volkswagen Golf with a flashing blue light, sped up behind them.
The police vehicle pulled over to allow the Golf to pass, but ”at that moment the driver of the Mazda could not pull over as he was passing a truck”.
Budhram said that it is alleged that when the Mazda had passed the truck and pulled over, a passenger in the Golf, which down one of the tinted windows, and shot at the tyre of the Mazda.
”The driver of the Mazda lost control and his vehicle went into the oncoming traffic, colliding with a bakkie in the north-bound lane.”
He said the Golf sped off and the police vehicle could not catch up with it. The officers decided to render assistance to the injured.
Netcare 911 and ER24 reported that eight people were injured in the accident, four of whom were described as being in a serious condition.
Budhram said: ”It would appear to be a VIP vehicle.”
He said that the police’s dog unit had been deployed and a spent cartridge had been recovered from the accident scene. – Sapa