Man injured in R28 protest
Motorists urged to take alternative route to Westonaria.
The service delivery protests that broke out last week has reached dangerous and violent proportions as protestors are starting to injure motorists.
Lawrence Orton was driving home from work via the R28 when he was met with a shower of rocks hurled at his car.
“I drove over rocks and my car was hit with rocks. It was almost like a hail storm. No, like they were shooting. Initially I thought they were shooting at my car,” he said.
Orton states at that point in the road – next to extension 11 – there was no place for him to turn off or turn back.
“I had to swerve out of the way to dodge the barrier that the people had put up and ended up on a dirt road on the side.”
When asked how he escaped the ordeal, he simply shaked his head and said, “I just put my foot on the petrol and went. I don’t know how I survived. If I stopped my car, I’m sure I’d have been killed.”
Orton sustained an injury during the stoning, his shoulder has muscle damage and he had to be taken to hospital. In addition to this, Orton is a diabetic and whet into shock when the incident occurred.
The car’s windscreen has severe shattering and is expected to fall in at any given moment, the left back window was completely hit out and a large concrete brick was found in the back seat.
According to Orton, the alternative route through Mohlakeng also have people on the side of the road stoning cars. The only other route that he knows of is through Finsbury and Venterspos.
He continues to say that when the protest started on Tuesday, Police and Traffic Police redirected the traffic but were not there when his car was stoned on the second day.
“People should avoid driving the R28 in total while this protest is still on. So many cars of people we know have been damaged,” he says.
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