Uber driver crashes car after attempted hijacking
One of the suspects involved in the attempted hijacking is still at large.
AN Uber driver was lucky to escape unharmed after an attempted hijacking ended in a crash on the corner of Eastview Road and Athlone Road on Sunday evening at about 11pm. An off-duty officer from the SAPS K9 Unit, who lives on Eastview Road, arrested one of the alleged hijackers after a short foot chase.
According to Marshall Security’s Kyle van Reenen, the men had pretended to be passengers before pulling out a weapon on the driver.
“The driver overhead them talking about hijacking the vehicle and that’s when one of the men, pulled out a weapon and grabbed him by the throat. They demanded that he stop the vehicle. In the short struggle, the driver crashed his vehicle at the corner of Eastview and Athlone and suspects fled the scene. An officer from the SAPS K9 unit heard the commotion outside and went out to investigate.
“The officer noticed two men running on Eastview Road and was told by the Uber driver that the men had tried to hijack him. He chased after the suspects and he apprehended one of the men. The second suspect managed to getaway. Greenwood Park SAPS attended the scene and found a pellet gun a few metres away from the crash,” he said.
Sergeant Vincent Mthembu, Greenwood Park SAPS spokesman, confirmed a case had been opened at the station.
Uber spokesperson, Samantha Allenberg, confirmed the vehicle was registered to their App.
“While this is a vehicle registered to us our App, it was not on a trip during the time of the alleged incident (drivers are independent operators and can be doing personal trips/other business trips in between using our app). Our team is reaching out to the vehicle owner and driver to find out more,” she said.
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