A NEW Germany mother, Maritjie Grant (38), narrowly escaped an attempted hijacking in Pinetown on Wednesday, 11 June at approximately 4pm.
According to Grant, the incident occurred while she was waiting to pick up her son, Ian Diedericks (15), from a friend’s house on Frara Road.
“My son is writing exams, and because he finishes school early we arranged for him to wait at a friend’s house. After work I stopped in Frara Road to fetch him,”said Grant.
She was waiting in the driveway when she noticed, in her right-hand mirror, a man running towards her car.
“I immediately noted that he had a gun in his right hand. I quickly locked my vehicle and began winding up my automatic window, but somehow he managed pushed his arm though, in an attempt to grab my car keys. But his left arm was caught between my window and the door frame,” said Grant.
She also noticed that the two other men were trying to open the passenger and the left rear door of her vehicle.
“I think at that point he became a little anxious and the next thing I knew he raised his gun and pointed it at my head. I knew that he was going to shoot, and that he was going to shoot to kill,” said Grant.
She ducked down, leaning towards the passenger’s chair and heard the gunshot. When she realised that she was unarmed she put her vehicle, that was still idling, into reverse and began to reverse out of the driveway, with the gunman caught in her window.
“I don’t know how, but somehow the shooter got loose,” said Grant. The men ran to their vehicle and fled the scene. Prior to the shooting the men pulled up behind her in a black Toyota Yaris.
Grant reported that she is lucky and happy to be alive. “The worst part about the incident is that my son and his friend witnessed the whole event,” she said.
After the terrifying incident Grant, who has miliraty and police background, dreams of providing other mothers and women with self defense classes.
“I believe that I am still here to do something for my community,”said Grant.
She does not believe that she was followed by the would-be-hijackers, and believes that it was a random incident.
“I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time,”said Grant.
The Ashley Resident’s Neighbourhood Watch also reported two armed men hijacked a silver Toyota Corolla on Victory Drive on Thursday, 12 June, and sped off towards Mariannhill Park.
Lt Bongumusa Manqele, communications officer at Pinetown SAPS, confirmed that a case of attempted hijacking was opened at the Pinetown Police station.
