Cape highway to hell

30 July 2015 - 02:02 By Jerome Cornelius

The deadly stretch of the N2 through Cape Town has claimed another victim. Warrant officer Petrus Johannes Holz, 50, of the Hawks unit was stabbed to death after he pulled over near Macassar at about 5am. He had driven over "man-made debris", puncturing his tyres.Hawks spokesman Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said: "We believe [the debris] were put there intentionally to stop him."When he went to investigate, the two men attacked him."He said "personal belongings" weretaken, "but we don't want to say what while we are still investigating".The N2 - the city's main access route to and from Cape Town International Airport and the route into Cape Town from Somerset West - has become infamous for attacks on motorists, deadly collisions and protests.Most recently, well-known Cape Town neurosurgeon Dr Gerrit Coetzee died on Saturday when he collided with a taxi on the N2 near Somerset West.A task team has been set up to investigate Holz's murder, headed by acting Hawks boss Major General Mthandazo Ntlemeza.In July last year, South African Airways pilot Archie Bell and cabin crew member Wesley Ford were targeted in separate robberies close to the airport. Ford was forced off the road after rocks were thrown at him.Bell hit a box that contained a concrete brick, and was attacked by six men when he stopped his car.They are just two of dozens of similar incidents on the stretch of road over the past few years.In April, the warned that criminals were putting concrete blocks on the road to force cars to stop, then robbing motorists.ER24 spokesman Russel Meiring said the N2 was notorious for crime."When our teams receive notifications that someone has broken down there, they stay on standby."Because it runs past Khayelitsha and other locations, if they go out there, they go with SAPS or metro services. That's been happening for quite a few years."Community Safety MEC Dan Plato condemned "the brazen lengths criminals will go to, and the total disregard for life, regardless of who the victim is"...

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