Crash ends high-speed car chase

TWO suspects were caught red-handed in a stolen vehicle after crashing into a ditch near Swartkops during a high-speed chase with police yesterday.

The suspects crashed the Toyota Corolla on the M19 after police spotted the vehicle, which had been linked to a violent house robbery in Buthelezi Street, Ikamvelihle.

A woman was raped and the car, a plasma television and other household items were stolen during the 4am robbery.

When police spotted the vehicle on the Addo Road they tried to pull it over, but the vehicle sped away and the police opened fire.

During the chase, the driver lost control, crashing into the ditch.

Police spokesman Captain Andre Beetge said the men, aged 22 and 30, had allegedly stolen the Corolla during the robbery.

“Three suspects entered the house by climbing through an open window,” he said.

“They held a 21-year-old woman and her 32-year-old boyfriend hostage while ransacking the house.”

The third robber is believed to have escaped from the house on foot as he was not in the vehicle.

“One of the suspects raped the woman during the ordeal,” Beetge said.

“The boyfriend managed to escape by jumping through a window at the front of the house and ran to the police station about a kilometre away.

“A patrolling police vehicle spotted the car and the chase ensued – from the Addo Road to the M17 and then to the M19 in an attempt to get into the direction of New Brighton,” he said.

Both men are due to appear in the Motherwell Magistrate’s Court today.