Many motorists have witnessed spontaneous exchanges between drivers known as ‘road rage’, but no one ever expects it to go further than a few ill-chosen words or hand signs. For a 42-year-old father of two, one such incident almost turned deadly.
Tyrone Donald was driving in his Volkswagen Caddy down Nic Diederichs Road towards Retail Crossing when the unexpected happened.
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“I was driving around with one of my friends and then when we came to a stop where Nic Diederichs [Road] meets a set of traffic lights and the road turns into three lanes, was when the incident occurred. I’m in the left-hand lane at the traffic light when a dark blue Toyota taxi comes up next to me and tries to cut in front of me,” Donald explained how he got into the altercation with the taxi driver.
“I didn’t give him space to cut in front of me. He rolled down his window and hit my side-view mirror, I react and stop my car and he reverses and pulls in behind me.”
Donald went on to explain that at this point he was upset about the interaction and proceeded to climb out of his vehicle with a half-empty can of an energy drink which he threw toward the taxi.
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“The driver then got out of the car with a firearm, at this point the firearm is visible but he’s not pointing it at me,” elaborated Donald adding that he did not understand why the driver had a firearm on him as he was unarmed.
“At this point, my friend got out of the car and then the taxi’s passengers also started to climb out.”
Donald explained that he got back into his car and then the taxi driver came towards him.
“When I saw he was carrying a firearm, my first instinct was to drive off. My friend shouted at the driver to ‘Voetsek with your BB gun!’ and in reaction, the driver kicked the back of the van, on the left side, and breaks the tail light,” added Donald, “I switch off the car and get out to go inspect the damage, I notice him walk back to his taxi – it looked like he was fiddling with the gun’s magazine or loading it.”
Donald proceeded to walk towards the driver and said, “If you are going to pull out that thing, then use it. Shoot if you have to. In the back of my head, I’m thinking, ‘it must be a BB gun, right?’ because my friend is very street smart and said the weapon looks like a BB gun.
“Again, I was unarmed, I had nothing on me. The driver started to raise the firearm and pointed it toward me, a few of the passengers in the taxi started to egg him on and I heard a gunshot go off as I jumped back into the car. I thought ‘sjoh, that is not a BB gun’.”
Donald added that as he turned and got into his car the bullet hit him, but at this point, he was not aware that he had been shot.
“I didn’t feel anything when I got into the car except this burning sensation in my back, it was very uncomfortable so I told my friend I think I’d been hit,” Donald exclaimed.
Donald asked his friend to check his back and as his friend lifted Donald’s shirt the blood started gushing.
“By that time we were further up the road there was a lady that pulled up next to me and said she just saw what happened and asked me if I was okay. At this point I was getting out of the driver’s side and switching places with my friend – blood was everywhere and I told the lady that I’d just been shot. I remember the lady broke out in tears as my friend rushed me to the nearest medical center.”
According to Donald, by some miracle, the bullet missed his spine and vital organs by millimetres.
“As you can see on the X-ray, the bullet went into my back on the left-hand side and ended up on the right side of my back just underneath the skin,” explained Donald.
The doctors removed the 9mm round from his back and gave him the necessary treatment. After Donald was released from the hospital he went to the Honeydew Police Station where he opened a case of attempted murder.
Fortunately for Donald, EC Security, among others, has several CCTV cameras posted along Nic Diederichs Road and he hopes to get footage of the incident to help bring the taxi driver to justice.
Honeydew Police Spokesperson Warrant Officer Dave Stanton-Humphries confirmed that a case was opened and although the police are still investigating the incident, they have one possible suspect already.
Donald is appealing to the motorists, and specifically to the woman who drove a burgundy-coloured hatchback, who witnessed the incident to contact him with any additional information or evidence that they might have noticed. Any information can be sent to nicola@caxton.co.za.
“It was terrifying to think that something as simple as not being able to cut in line can lead to someone firing their weapon at another human being. If there was even the slightest difference in the angle of the bullet hitting me, I could be dead,” concluded Donald.
