Police officer charged after midnight crash
Mon, 17 Oct, 2016
Sue Maclennan @SusanMaclennan2
A police officer faces charges of drunk driving, reckless
and negligent driving and misuse of a state vehicle after a police van crashed
into a Grahamstown business late on Saturday night, after hitting two donkeys.
Administration manager at Ultra Liquors in Beaufort
Street, Chrisy du Plessis, said she’d been awoken around midnight by an officer
from a security company to tell her about the accident.
“When I arrived, I found the two donkeys dead in the
street,” Du Plessis told Grocott’s Mail the next morning.
The front end of a police vehicle was jammed among the
metal bars and glass of the shop’s front window.
“Part of it was actually stuck inside.”
Police spokesperson Captain Mali Govender confirmed the
incident and said a police officer from the Queenstown Police had been charged
with drunk driving, reckless and negligent driving and misuse of a state
vehicle.
Manager of the Grahamstown SPCA Mark Thomas said an
inspector from the organisation had attended the scene.
“I can confirm that the animals died,” Thomas said. “But
until we have the police report I’m unable to comment further.”
The shop’s internal security cameras recorded the
incident at ten minutes before midnight.
