Five arrested for looting overturned clothing truck in De Doorns

Five people were arrested on Tuesday after being found in possession of items believed to have been looted from a truck that overturned in a rock-throwing incident at the weekend.

The driver died in the accident, which was reportedly caused by a brick being thrown at the vehicle, Western Cape police said. The accident took place near De Doorns.

"A case of theft was registered on Monday for the items that was stolen from the truck and five suspects between the ages of 26 and 48 were arrested for theft. These suspects will appear in the De Doorns Magistrate's Court on Wednesday," said Capt FC van Wyk.

Police were also investigating a case of murder following the driver's death. 

The truck had been on the N1 when a rock was flung from the Stofland footbridge at around 5.20am, landing on the truck's windshield on Sunday morning.

In a video of the incident circulating on social media, when the rock apparently hits the steering wheel, another person is seen resting on a bunk bed in the truck.

Time Link Cargo CEO Kamal Mitoo confirmed the identity of the driver who died as Christopher Kgomo.

Mitoo said Kgomo and a second driver were transporting R2.5m worth of clothing to Cape Town when someone threw a rock at the truck.

The rock struck Kgomo, but it did not kill him on impact. The second driver, who was resting in a bunk bed, tried to take control of the truck before it crashed.

Mitoo said Kgomo was still alive after the crash, but thieves trampled him before looting the truck. Mitoo said Kgomo's death was a "tragedy". 

"It's a sad day for us," he said. 

Mitoo said Kgomo was the second driver from the company to die in the past 15 years and added that the company had been relatively lucky in escaping such incidents.

"Stoning trucks is becoming the norm."

Police had initially opened a case of culpable homicide but the charge was later turned to murder.