Joburg woman survives attempted hijacking and kidnapping

What was supposed to be a normal day-to-day drive to a usual appointment for an estate agent in Johannesburg on Thursday afternoon, almost turned lethal when she was nearly hijacked and kidnapped in broad daylight.

Just after 17:00, the woman, 68, parked her white Mercedes Benz A1 outside a residential complex in Montgomery Park and was getting ready to meet a client when a when a car suddenly stopped next to hers and two men jumped out, grabbed her by the mouth and shoved her into her boot.

Thanks to the swift reaction of eyewitnesses, some who were jogging in the area at the time, who noticed the attempted kidnapping and screamed for help, the men were not able to drive away.

A neighbour fired shots at the suspects making it difficult for them to drive off with the woman.

One of the suspects was injured during the shooting.

According to eyewitnesses, as the shootout ensued, the suspect who was shot was taken out the Mercedes Benz and put inside the getaway vehicle which then sped off.

All while the woman was inside the boot.

Information

Blood could be seen in the driver’s seat of the vehicle when News24 was at the scene. Local patrol security and police were also present gathering information and cordoning off the area.

Speaking to News24 as police were gathering information, the woman said she was attending to an appointment when the perpetrators’ vehicle suddenly stopped next to her vehicle.

She said:”When I got out of my car, this car (getaway vehicle) came rushing up here and stopped here and I thought maybe I am in the [driveway of a house] and so I looked at them and the next thing they grabbed me and said to me ‘Don’t scream. In the boot.’ And I said ‘No, take my car’, they said ‘no in the boot.'”

She added that the suspects put their hand on her mouth and shoved her in the boot. All this time she screamed for help, grabbing the attention of people who were nearby.

She said she is grateful for everyone who noticed what was happening and started screaming for help resulting in one of the neighbours coming out and firing shots.

“[The neighbour] came before they could drive off, he shot the guy.”I am feeling very thankful that I am alive and that I didn’t have to have that trauma of being driven around and not knowing what could happen to me. I am very thankful to God I am alive and that he took care of me.

She said she was informed that the getaway vehicle was found abandoned in Westbury.

Police spokesperson Captain Kay Makhubele confirmed to News24 that a case of attempted hijacking was being investigated.

No arrests have yet been made.

“I can confirm that police are investigating a case of attempted hijacking after the neighbour saw the incident and react[ed] to the hijackers where a shootout occurred. The getaway car was later found in Westbury,” Makhubele said.

The woman said she had not noticed being followed, and was confused when the ordeal happened within a split second.

“While I was in the boot, I just knew that the car wasn’t going and I thought someone is trying to help me and then I heard the bullets going around. Eight bullets. I thank God I was in the car’s [boot].

“While I was in the boot I was like the car is not going, and that means I am still here, because that was my fear; driving away with me and then I kept thinking I could suffocate in there.”

She added that she was grateful that she got the strength to try and pull free and refuse being put inside the boot because that had bought time for people to react, and for the the resident to get his gun and shoot at the suspects before they could speed off with her inside the boot.

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