‘We saw this guy clinging on to the bakkie’

A video doing the rounds earlier this month showed footage of a suspected robber/hijacker brazenly climbing into the canopy of a bakkie on a rainy evening in a suspected attempted to hijack the driver, a young woman.

The suspected hijacker climbed into the unlocked canopy while the bakkie driver was waiting at an intersection. She didn’t notice anything, at first.

Luckily the people doing the filming behind her intervened and saved her.

Some of the comments on the video said it would have been great had there been a dog in the back, or if the driver had delivered her unwanted passenger straight to the nearest police station.

The Citizen interviewed the man who took the footage, Rupert Bryant, who offered more detail on what happened.

“We saw this guy clinging on to the bakkie while going up Suikerbossie in Hout Bay. I immediately knew something was wrong when I saw him climbing into the car, as he got down and was hiding in the back of the canopy.

“I was driving with my mother. I asked her to get close so we could see who else was in the car to assess the situation.

“When I saw that it was just a girl, alone, in the car, I knew that she was very likely in deep trouble, and she was going to need help.

“I told my mother to stay close and follow the car, and get alongside her so as soon as she stopped, I could then jump out the car and help fight, or make sure the girl was safe and could get away.

“I was half expecting the hijacker to have a weapon already being wielded, or the attacker to appear at any moment, so it was an intense situation.

“When we stopped, what I did was write down a message on my phone’s screen, in large text, explaining that someone was in the back of the car. I thought that way the hijacker would not be able to hear, and she could escape quickly and safely and run for help.”

The young woman, however, didn’t believe him at first and thought he was “up to no good”.

“Eventually I convinced her, and luckily I managed to persuade her to get out the car and look. When she got out the car and saw the hijacker, she was understandably terrified.”

Bryant explained that the hijacker didn’t do anything, remaining in the back of the vehicle and they then helped the driver to safety.

“Once I made sure the girl could get away and was safe, I told her to go inside the restaurant we were parked next to, which had security, and to call the police, which I believe she did.”

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