Probe after thousands of rands' damage is caused to brand-new car
A cancelled birthday lunch spent at a police station and a shattered rear-view mirror on his beautiful new Subaru - Johann Scholtz was having a bad day.
He had just fallen victim to a "blue-light brigade" screaming through Sandton, would have to cough up the insurance excess, lose his claim-free history and - through his taxes - would ultimately land up paying for the damage.
But the VIP officers who sliced off Scholtz's mirror had, without knowing it, picked the wrong car to damage: one filled with three lawyers from one of the country's most prominent legal firms.
Scholtz and his colleagues chased down the offenders and took meticulous notes of vehicle makes, registration numbers and even what building the VIP member walked into when the brigade reached their destination.
The Star understands that the VIP being transported was former deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.
National police spokesman Senior Superintendent Vish Naidoo confirmed that the cars were from the Presidential Protection Unit and that a case of reckless driving would be investigated. However, Naidoo declined to confirm which VIP was being transported or on what business.
He said the docket would be taken to the prosecutor, if it was found that somebody was at fault.
In a letter to The Star, Scholtz recalled every detail of the accident that took place on November 13. The attorney, celebrating his 47th birthday on the day, was parked at the corner of Rivonia and Protea Roads near Illovo, northern Joburg, waiting for the traffic light to turn green.
It was about 12.30pm and Scholtz was on his way to his birthday lunch.
Suddenly, a black BMW X5 - with its siren wailing and blue lights flashing - "charged down the right-hand line at break-neck speed, squeezed through a gap and hit my rear-view mirror, with bits flying through the air".
It then allegedly ignored a red light, cut across two lanes and performed an illegal left-hand turn with a BMW 7-series following in its slipstream.
Scholtz had bought his metallic-silver Subaru Forester a month ago and was devastated to see the damage. He followed the two BMWs to where the VIP apparently entered a business building.
He confronted the driver of the car that had hit him, but found him unfazed by what had happened.
"The nonchalant manner in which he did so (suggesting they go to report the case at a police station) suggested to me that he was no stranger to the procedure," Scholtz said.
The accident was reported to the police, but the driver refused to tell Scholtz who the VIP was or what emergency had justified such reckless driving. What he did allegedly concede was that the VIP was late for a meeting and had put pressure on him to drive as fast as possible.
"He simply drove off, leaving me feeling angry, frustrated and violated in my citizenship," Scholtz said.
Scholtz, an Illovo resident, is busy getting quotes to replace the mirror, but fears it will cost thousands of rands as the entire door will have to be opened up.
"Why was that person entitled to charge through the traffic at high speeds if they were late for a meeting ... I would like to know what kind of emergency justifies this?"
The Star 20/11/09
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