A drunk driver who killed two Johannesburg Metro Police Department Officers in 2018 has received a suspended sentence.
On 30 January 2018 Albert Pretorius crashed into a BMW, a Hyundai and a Porsche that had been pulled over in a JMPD roadblock. Two female police officers were killed in the crash.
At the time, the MMC for Community Safety, Michael Sun said, “Reports from the scene indicated that a vehicle crashed into parked vehicles at the roadblock killing two officers and injuring passengers on Witkoppen Road near Montecasino.”
ALSO READ: UPDATE: Herman Mashaba visits one deceased officer’s family.
Pretorius was found guilty on two counts of culpable homicide and was sentenced to six years, wholly suspended on the condition that he is not convicted of a similar crime during the six-year period. His drivers license has not been suspended.
Following news of the sentence, former mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Herman Mashaba expressed his anger in a social media post. He said, “I’m shocked and angered by the news that Albert Pretorius is effectively getting a slap on the wrist after he crashed into two Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) officers while driving drunk, killing them on the spot. The National Prosecutions Authority (NPA) must appeal. I stand with the dedicated officers of the JMPD.”
This sentence is not justice. We must stand up for those who protect us. pic.twitter.com/bq73caiOdc
— Herman Mashaba (@HermanMashaba) January 20, 2020
Sun said “I am shocked to receive this judgment. Albert Pretorius was drunk when he crashed his car into two JMPD officers and killing them on the spot. Pretorius will not pay a cent or spend a day in jail for destroying lives, says Magistrate GL Schnetler of Wynberg. NPA must appeal the sentence”
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