Another attack at smash-and-grab hotspot in Kempton Park

Yet another couple has fallen victim to a brutal smash-and-grab incident at the intersection behind Avion Park Golf Club in Kempton Park, on the East Rand.

The intersection has become notorious for similar attacks in the past, leaving motorists with injuries as rocks are thrown through car windows while motorists wait at the red traffic light at the intersection with Great North Road, just off Dann Road, Kempton Express reported.

Michael Moolman and his girlfriend, Marozelle van der Merwe, were driving home on Thursday night when the latest incident happened.

It was about 7pm, and they were driving from the Pomona Road turn-off towards the intersection at Dann Road, behind the golf club.

“We pulled up to the traffic light. The car hadn’t even fully stopped yet, when I heard a loud bang on the right hand side of my car. At first I was very confused, thinking an accident had happened,” the 22-year-old told Kempton Express on Saturday morning.

Little did Moolman know he and his girlfriend were being attacked, and that it was in fact a rock that had been thrown through his window.

He soon realised they were being attacked when a second rock came flying through the passenger window where Van der Merwe was seated.

The man on Moolman’s side of the car kept hitting him in the face with the butt of a gun. However, all he was concerned about was the safety of his girlfriend.

“I kept trying to reach over and help her because the guy on her side kept punching her in the face. The guy on my side had a gun and the one on her side had a knife.”

The nightmare, which felt like it lasted for hours, came to an end when the attackers were distracted by two cars that pulled up next to them, causing them to flee into the veld towards Bonaero Park. They made off with Van Der Merwe’s cellphone.

The glass from the smashed windows was still in the car on Saturday. The attackers also grabbed the car keys from the ignition and threw it away.

What is left of the passenger side window where Moolman’s girlfriend was sitting on the night of the incident.

“We still haven’t found them, so I’m unable to drive the car,” Moolman says after the car had to be towed to his home.

The couple was treated at the scene by ER24 paramedics, but thankfully Van der Merwe was not too badly hurt.

The next day Moolman went to a doctor and was given antibiotics and painkillers.

He has visible bruising underneath his right eye.

“The big part of me doing this interview is to plead with people to be very careful when driving, especially women should be extra careful when driving alone because I think criminals target them more because they view them as more vulnerable,” Moolman warned.

– Caxton News Service