Chris Palmer, a victim of a hit-and-run incident on 22 July after an accident with a taxi, waited three hours to lay a case against the taxi driver at the Douglasdale Police Station today.
Palmer was on his way home from the shops at about 4pm on 22 July on his motorbike when the taxi hit him as he was pulling into Cedar Road in Fourways. He was lucky to survive and only suffered minor injuries.
Read the full story here: Victim speaks out after being knocked off his bike by a taxi in Fourways
For weeks, all eyes of the eblockwatch community including various security services were on the lookout for the taxi driver.
His fateful day arrived when Night Guard, a security company in the area, spotted him driving on Witkoppen Road earlier today (14 August). Off Site Monitoring’s (OSM) camera system, that is spread throughout parts of Joburg, helped tracked the vehicle. National Security and Fire also played a role in the matter.
He was arrested and taken to Douglasdale Police Station. This is where the situation became dubious as according to Palmer, “Constables at the station wanted to let the driver go but fortunately he was stopped by a police reservist who insisted he faces the music.”
Palmer explained how the whole process of opening a reconnection case to the original incident took a whopping three hours.
“I managed to open an accident case against the driver and he, in turn, opened a case of malicious damage to property against me (after Palmer broke a window of the taxi),” added Palmer.
“Thanks goes to André Snyman, founder of eblockwatch, Night Guard and all of the community role players who helped me seek some form of justice.”
Douglasdale police have been approached for comment and the story will be updated once information has been received.
Have you been a victim of a hit-and-run? Share your stories with us by emailing our group editor on daniellap@caxton.co.za
