Alleged drunk, reckless driver arrested after wild police chase

A 31 year-old spent Sunday and Monday behind bars after he recklessly overtook numerous vehicles on the B2 between Swakopmund and Walvis Bay on Sunday after midnight and thereafter sped off from traffic officials resulting in a lengthy and dangerous police chase through Swakopmund.
It actually borders a miracle that nobody was injured during the wild chase which started early on Sunday outside Walvis Bay and ended in Rakotoka Street in Swakopmund. The arrested driver, Johannes Katangala, appeared in the Swakopmund Magistrates Court yesterday.
According to Swakopmund Senior Traffic Official Appolus Motinga the police was informed about the reckless driving behavior after Katangala allegedly did not stop at the police roadblock in the vicinity of Langstrand and proceeded to speed off towards Swakopmund. Reports indicate that his driving behavior became questionable when he allegedly overtook numerous vehicles at a high speed even while travelling towards Swakopmund. He overtook even though vehicles were approaching from the front.
This action nearly resulted in a serious head-on collision and it was thanks to the quick action of an oncoming driver, that an accident was avoided in the last second. This motorist saw what Katangala was about to do and swerved off the road surface to enable him to complete the reckless overtaking maneuver. The motorist reported the incident at the roadblock. When Katangala was asked to pull off at the roadblock though he sped off towards Swakopmund.
“We got a call and set up a temporary roadblock at the bridge and waited for him,” said Motinga. Katangala, who was driving a Golf GTI, did not stop at this temporary roadblock either and sped off into town. When he was confronted at the traffic light on the intersection at the Bonusmark building, he sped off again – even though it was a red light. “He drove off at a high speed and skipped many other red lights on his way into Mondesa and we chased him,” Motinga continued. Miraculously his reckless driving behavior did not caused an accident.
While the authorities were hot on his trail Katangala was finally cornered by traffic officials in Rakotoka Street. But instead of giving up, he fled on foot. “He jumped out of his car and ran away. He jumped over a wall of a house and continued running and jumping over walls in an attempt to escape,” Motinga continued. But the law did get hold of him as a traffic official managed to apprehend Katangala soon thereafter.
After the arrest Katangala tested positive for driving under the influence of alcohol. The reading of the breathalyzer test was 0.56. The legal limit is 0.37. He appeared in court yesterday on a charge of reckless and negligent driving as well as driving under the influence.