16-year-old speedster arrested after allegedly clocking 200km/h after curfew

A 16-year-old who allegedly took his brother's new Golf 7 for a spin at 200km/h, with five teenage passengers on board, has been arrested in Cape Town.

The teen driver was spotted just before 1am on Sunday by a Ghost Squad traffic officer travelling at high speed along Jan Smuts Drive in the direction of Grassy Park. The officer, in an unmarked vehicle, gave chase.

Authorities said the teen driver allegedly ignored several red traffic lights and refused to stop.

“The officer called for backup and the vehicle was eventually stopped at Old Strandfontein and Ottery Road,” the city said in a statement.

“To the officers’ dismay, the driver was a very young man, who informed them that he had just turned 16 the day before. He had five passengers in the vehicle, all around the age of 15. It also turned out that the driver had taken his brother’s new car without permission.”

Mayoral committee member for safety and security, JP Smith, said it was concerning that the teenagers were also out past the lockdown curfew.

“I shudder to think of the potential tragedy that could have unfolded here. This was no joyride, but reckless endangerment and I hope that it will be a lesson to everyone concerned. Also, that these teenagers were out past curfew is another concern, particularly given the [Covid-19] resurgence we are experiencing,” said Smith.

The arrested teen driver was released into his father’s care. He was one of 202 suspects arrested by city enforcement agencies in the past week. During that time, 75,087 fines were issued for various transgressions.

The city said traffic officers arrested 90 suspects, including 51 for driving under the influence of alcohol and 27 for reckless and negligent driving, and impounded 164 vehicles, 198 cellphones and issued 68,270 fines.

Metro police officers made 66 arrests and issued 3,256 fines. Among those arrested were 27 suspects for possession of drugs, 23 for contact-related crimes and six for driving under the influence of alcohol.

Law enforcement officers made 46 arrests, issued 3,561 fines and confiscated nearly 400kg of stolen cables.

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