Police officer suspected of fatal hit-and-run accident commits suicide

A police officer who allegedly fled the scene of a hit-and-run accident that killed a 26-year-old woman, Phumla Mtshali, committed suicide at a hotel in Umhlanga Rocks on Monday morning.

Reaction Unit South Africa (Rusa) spokesperson Prem Balram said Mtshali was hit by a black Toyota Fortuner on the Phoenix Highway in KZN in the early hours of last Friday.

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“The driver sped away without helping the seriously injured pedestrian. A license plate belonging to the vehicle was recovered at the scene of the accident, but was removed from the scene of the accident minutes later by an unknown person.”

“Rusa received a call hours after the incident from a farmer reporting a suspicious vehicle on his property. Emergency crews went to the area in Canelands in KZN and found an accident-damaged black Toyota Fortuner. The number plates were missing. The vehicle was fitted with blue warning lights.

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“The officers conducted an ownership check of the vehicle based on the number plate information and it was confirmed that the vehicle belonged to the South African Police Service (Saps).

“It was reported stolen to Phoenix Saps on Friday. It later emerged that it was the same vehicle that was wanted for a hit-and-run accident that killed Mtshali. Her family believed that the police officer had reported the vehicle as stolen to manipulate the investigation,” Balram said

He said Rusa had received confirmation that a SAPS warrant officer was wanted for the deliberate killing of the mother of two.

It is alleged that the police officer called several of his family members before committing suicide at a hotel in Umhlanga.

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KZN Saps spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda told The Witness that there was no comment yet on the matter.