CCTV captures horror attack on woman outside Rynfield pre-school
The 40-year-old man, who also sustained burn wounds, is under police guard at a local hospital.
A Daveyton woman (27) is fighting for her life in a local hospital after sustaining serious burn wounds when her vehicle was set alight by a man who is apparently her boyfriend outside a pre-school in Miles Sharp Street, Rynfield, on Monday (September 13).
The woman had just dropped her five-year-old daughter at the school and was with her cousin.
The events were captured on CCTV from the pre-school, which the City Times viewed on Monday.
In the footage, the mom and her cousin are seen dropping her child at the pre-school at around 06:15. When they return to the car, a Toyota Quantum parks next to them.
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A man, believed to be her boyfriend, gets out of the taxi, approaches the woman’s vehicle and smashes the driver’s window.
The couple argues and the two women get out of the car before the man goes back to his taxi and retrieves a two-litre plastic bottle filled with petrol.
He pours the petrol into the car through the smashed window and then onto his girlfriend standing nearby. As the car is set alight, the woman and her boyfriend also catch fire.
The woman flees to a nearby veld where she starts rolling on the ground to try to extinguish the blaze. Her cousin desperately tries to help her.
The man, with parts of his clothing burning, gets back into the taxi and he swerves into the veld in what appears to be an attempt to drive over the two women.
The principal of the pre-school, who did not want to be named, said as the man was chasing after the women, a neighbour who witnessed the incident blocked the taxi with his bakkie.
“The mother and the cousin can be seen running back to the school for help. The teachers had phoned me and called emergency services.
“You can then see in the footage that the man gets out of the taxi again and gets into the burning vehicle for a few seconds before getting out again.
“A man can then also be seen pointing a firearm at the taxi driver to contain the situation.”
According to the principal, the suspect regularly dropped off and picked up the child at the school. The pre-school was closed for the day and the children were picked up by their parents.
“The motive for the incident is unknown and police are investigating,” said Sekele.
According to ER24 spokesperson Russel Meiring, paramedics arrived on the scene at 06:48 and found the provincial fire services already in attendance. A light motor vehicle was found alight in the parking area.
“On closer inspection, medics found that a man had sustained critical burn injuries while two women had sustained serious burn wounds.
“The patients were treated and provided advanced life-support interventions before they were transported to nearby hospitals for further care,” said Meiring.
At the time of going to print, the police confirmed the woman was in ICU. The 40-year-old man, who also sustained burn wounds, is under police guard at a local hospital.
A case of attempted murder, malicious damage to property and reckless driving was opened against the boyfriend at the Benoni Police Station following the incident.
Benoni SAPS spokesperson Capt Nomsa Sekele said the suspect will appear in court once he has been discharged from the hospital.
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