Remain alert at intersections

This following the report of an armed robbery at the William Nicol Drive and Jan Smuts Avenue intersection near the Hyde Park shopping centre.

Rose Johnson, chairperson of the Friends of the Field and Study Park, said her son had been sitting at a traffic light with his window slightly open near the centre, when out of the blue a gun was thrust through the gap with the assailant demanding his wallet and phone. “He obeyed and his accomplice then vanished in the traffic as it began to move,” said Johnson. She said motorists needed to be warned not to keep their window open when driving and to keep their wits about them.

Bramley police station spokesperson Warrant Officer Moses Maphakela said the intersections at Hyde Park shopping centre were not considered crime hot spots, however, it should remain procedure for motorists to be vigilant in keeping valuables under the car seat or in the boot when driving anywhere. Also, doors should be kept locked and windows closed.

He named the off-ramps of Grayston Drive and the M1 South as hot spot areas.

Captain Kym Cloete, spokesperson for the Sandton police station, advised motorists to remain alert at intersections.

She said while police had made an arrest following numerous traffic signal robberies in William Nicol Drive (Traffic light robber arrested, week ending 30 July), it was still advisable to keep valuables in your car out of sight and to remain aware of your surroundings at all times when on the road.

“William Nicol Drive has been quiet since the arrest but intersection crimes, specifically smash-and-grab crimes, along Witkoppen Drive and at highway on-ramps in the vicinity remain a concern,” she said.