Armed gang hijacks Zimbali resident

A ZIMBALI resident has recounted her terrifying ordeal at the hands of four hijackers on the N2.  The 61-year-old was forced off the road on the Queen Nandi Drive 0ff-ramp on Saturday at around 7pm. They robbed her of her luxury car, an Audi A7, worth at least R700 000. Julie Cloete was on her way to visit a friend in Greenwood Park when she noticed two cars, one in front of her, and one to the right of her, which tried to box her in.

“The guys to the right of me brandished their firearms and made their intent clear for me to pull over. They then forced me out of my car, I switched the car off and they began asking where the Tracker was. They were quite agitated. I told them I didn’t know what they were talking about. They then pulled my rings off my hand and took my watch. However, they grew agitated when they tried to drive away, but realised they couldn’t start the car. They couldn’t find the keys and couldn’t adjust the seat.

“They impatiently demanded that I helped them, so I started the car and helped adjust the seat for one of the hijackers. They kept saying hurry up, they just wanted to get away. All four of them were armed with handguns. As soon as they got the car started they sped off. I’d never seen my car driven at that speed,” she said.

Cloete said after the armed men sped off, she was left shaken and traumatised.

“I think my adrenaline was flowing during the hijacking. It was only after they left that I began panicking. I then cried out for help at different homes along the road before finding a security guard who lent me his phone so I could call the police and my brother. They must have been following me for a while and thought I was an easy target,” she said. 

A case of hijacking has been opened at the Greenwood Park SAPS.