ALBERTON- Two weeks ago, a hopeful thief tried to steal a lady’s car, but he didn’t know what hit him when the local hairdresser, Liza Pretoruis, from Smile Unisex Hair, in Florentia, chased him down the road.
“All you saw were combs, scissors and brushes flying. It was one of the funniest things I have ever seen” says Babsie Rademeyer, one of Liza’s clients. Liza was busy with a client when she saw a man walking up and down du Plessis Street, past the salon.
When the man walked past for the third time, peering into the salon, Liza became suspicious and a bit uncomfortable. At that moment, the client asked Anli Keen, Liza’s assistant, to check if her car was still there. Anli saw the car but jokingly said the car was gone. Liza took it seriously though and when she looked out the door she saw the same man sitting in the client’s car.
“I didn’t think twice, I just knew I had to save Magriets car. I opened the gate and shouted ‘jou bl***em,’ at which stage the man jumped from the vehicle and ran towards Alberton City. I chased him down the street and lost my shoes in the process. Just before I could get hold of him, he jumped into the getaway car, a yellow Mini Cooper.”
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Anli says Liza ran back to the store and shouted for someone to call the builder for help. He then jumped on his scooter and chased after the car. Anli contacted her dad, who works for a tracking company, and he dispersed the information to all the CPF networks.
“If only the men who stood watching came to help, we could have caught him” says Liza. “I knew Magriet would not have been able to afford a new car so I had to do something.”
Babsie Rademeyer said: “The old ladies all came out of the salon and cheered her on. They now call her Zola Budd.” “The next day I discovered I had muscles in places I didn’t know I had,” laughs Liza.
If you know a local hero let me know at belindav@caxton.co.za
