The man who was thrown off the Umdoni Road bridge in Amanzimtoti by two thugs during a robbery on Tuesday morning, 28 June is recovering at home, but he is still in a lot of pain.
Christo Barnard (45) said he was walking towards Galleria and crossed onto the bridge when he noticed two men sitting on the barrier. “I was alert for danger, but not suspicious of them,” he said. “One asked me for a light. I gave him my lighter, but when he battled to light a stompie he had in his hand, I realised something was up.
The other guy had moved behind me. I tried to push past the one in front, but both grabbed me and threw me over the side.”
Christo clung onto one of his attackers and he went over the side with him. “The other one ran down the embankment. I landed on my back. I was in a lot of pain, but I tried to fight them off.”
One of the thugs rifled through Christo’s pockets while he scuffled with his accomplice.
“He grabbed my cellphone out of my pocket and shouted something in Zulu to his friend. I thought they were going to stab me, but both ran into the bush.”
Christo tried to flag down passing vehicles and eventually someone stopped. They phoned SAPS but the police couldn’t pinpoint their position from their description.
“Then a tow truck stopped. He probably thought there was something wrong with the vehicle that had stopped for me. I gave Bobby a description of the two men and he radioed for help.
I was amazed when they radioed back to say they had caught the guys. It must have only been 10 minutes after I was attacked.”
After identifying his attackers and opening a case at the police station, Christo went to hospital to have X-rays done. “On Wednesday I managed to stand up, but I still couldn’t walk,” he said. “I have a big family to support, so I can’t afford to not work.
It was a very scary experience for me, but I’m just grateful to everyone who helped catch the guys.”
Read the original story here
Cellphone thieves throw man over N2 bridge
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