Armored Truck Driver’s Crazy Escape From a Highway Heist Is Straight Out of an Action Movie
You might find yourself holding your breath while watching the onboard video.
Crime is a big issue in South Africa, and a wild video of an attempted robbery of a cash-in-transit (CIT) vehicle on April 22 illustrates that fact pretty clearly. The short clip, which is making its rounds on social media, shows a vehicle driven by two security guards taking multiple hits from armed robbers in an attempt to stop their armored Toyota Land Cruiser.
According to SA Trucker, neither the driver nor the security guard were injured in the attempted robbery, although the suspects are still on the loose.
The ordeal took place in Pretoria, South Africa around 10:25 in the morning. The clip, embedded below, begins with the driver, who has been identified as Leo Prinsloo, driving down Highway N4, with a fellow driver/security guard who has not been identified. After a few curious checks to his mirrors, Prinsloo seems to sense something is wrong, and gunfire erupts shortly after. The truck's bulletproof glass windows are struck with several rounds as Prinsloo weaves the car through traffic, ramming two vehicles—at least one which was carrying the would-be robbers—in the process.
Prinsloo is a former member of the South African Police Service's Special Task Force, a special operations group within the SAPS. The Special Task Force functions as a hostage rescue and counter-terrorism organization, trained to deal with high-risk threats on the land, in the air, and at sea. This detail of Prinsloo's career was confirmed by his current employer, Fortis Pro Active Defence Solutions, on Facebook. According to the company, Prinsloo is the head instructor for its "Lone Operator courses."
Prinsloo's experience is certainly put to the test in the attempted robbery. Although the ordeal lasts only a few minutes, several shots are fired at him and his passenger, who is, quite literally, a passenger throughout the situation. Unable to return fire and obviously unable to drive, there's not much he can do besides following Prinsloo's commands. He doesn't seem quite as cool under pressure as his colleague, but it's safe to assume very few people would be. Besides YouTube commenters, of course.
Eventually, the robbers are evaded and the truck carrying the cash, an up-armored 70 Series Toyota Land Cruiser, appears to get stuck. Shortly after the Toyota is made immobile, Prinsloo exits the vehicle armed with a semi-automatic rifle, some specification of AR-15. The clip ends after that.
The aftermath of the incident was posted to Twitter by Yusuf Abramjee. Prinsloo and his partner were unharmed, although the same cannot be said for the Land Cruiser. The stick shift Toyota suffered damage to its front bumper, many of the windows were ruined by gunfire, and bullet holes appear to have gotten part of the way through the doors and A-pillar on the driver's side. This is, of course, a small price to pay for Prinsloo and his companion getting out alive.
The robbers were driving what appears to be an Audi A5 Sportback, which suffered far more damage than the trusty 70 Series. In the images of the aftermath posted to Twitter, the vehicle can be seen abandoned following the attempted robbery, its rear quarter panel and trunk appearing to have suffered major damage as a result of Prinsloo's defensive driving.
In a statement provided to SA Trucker, a spokesperson for the South African Police said, "On Thursday, 22 April, a group of men tried to rob a CIT vehicle on the N4 in Pretoria. The suspects fired several shots at the CIT vehicle in an attempt to stop it during a high-speed chase."
“The driver of the CIT vehicle managed to evade the robbers for a while but later stopped in wait for the robbers. The robbers fled without taking any money. No arrests have yet been made.”
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