Return of alcohol sales: Busy weekend as drunken driving, crashes spike

It was an unusually busy weekend for metro police officers in Gauteng as accidents spiked during the first weekend of the lockdown Level 2.

It has been less than a week since the lower lockdown level was introduced which includes more economic activities, including the sale of alcohol and tobacco products.

But since then, metro police officers have been inundated with accidents and contravention of some lockdown regulations.

At least 30 car accidents were recorded in the capital city over the weekend, including the fatal accident in which three Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) officers were killed in a head-on collision with an alleged drunk driver in the early hours of Sunday morning, said TMPD spokesperson Senior Superintendent Isaac Mahamba.

Mahamba said the officers had spotted the vehicle driving recklessly while facing oncoming traffic in the CBD, but the driver fled towards Pretoria West after the officers tried to stop the vehicle.

After the officers called for back up, the vehicle in pursuit hit the TMPD vehicle head-on. “The three Tshwane metro police officers… inside the vehicle all died at the scene. The driver of the vehicle which was sought also died at the scene.

“He was driving with a lady passenger who was transported to the nearest hospital,” said Mahamba. He added full and empty bottles of alcohol were found in the suspect’s vehicle.

“We have had 30 accidents in the City of Tshwane, starting from Friday until [Sunday] morning, but not all had fatalities.”

Johannesburg reported two fatal drink-driving accidents since the country moved to Level 2.

A driver and their passenger were killed in a suspected drunk-driving collision in Eldorado Park on Saturday.

Alcohol was also found in a vehicle involved in a fatal accident in Ennerdale last Wednesday, in which a passenger was killed, said Joburg Metro Police Department spokesperson Wayne Minnaar.

“It has been busier than usual during Level 2. So far, there have been two drink-driving fatal accidents in Joburg,” Minnaar said.

Meanwhile, a foreign national was arrested in Hillbrow during a police operation on Saturday night for contravening lockdown regulations by selling alcohol long after the permitted trading time.

Another seven people were fined for public drinking and bottles of beer and cider were also confiscated.

– rorisangk@citizen.co.za

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