Growing support for ambushed Tazz driver
"When I saw the man running with my handbag, my intention was to follow him, but in that moment, I didn't realise I would knock into him."
A COMMUNITY Against Crime march, planned after the botched hijacking of Sandy-Lee Ward, is expected to highlight residents’ concerns and frustration as crime continues to escalate.
The march will be held on October 14 and will begin at 13:00 from Highbury Grounds in Quality Street and end at the showgrounds in Tara Road.
Ward was ambushed on September 27 when she pulled up to the boom gates at a mall on The Bluff and reached to press the button to allow the gate to open.
Also read:Â WATCH: Bluff robbery victim who ran over suspect describes horrific ordeal
Flashbacks of her past attack, where she lay in a hospital bed in 2013, recovering from severe injuries she sustained during a violent robbery, sent her into a frenzy when two men accosted her.
Ward had her seatbelt on, which she claims kept her in the vehicle while the perpetrators tried to pull her out during an attempted hijacking.
After several attempts to pull her out of her silver Toyota Tazz failed, one of the men can be seen in CCTV footage, which captured the incident, running off with her handbag which he spotted under her passenger seat while trying to press the release button for the seat belt.
Ward drove through the closed boom gate seconds after one of the suspects jumped into a getaway vehicle, while the other fled with her handbag which contained all her personal belongings and important documents.
Overcome with trauma and shock, Ward was captured in footage from a second CCTV camera driving towards the suspect who was fleeing with her handbag and crashing into him.
Also read:Â WATCH: Robbery victim runs over thief on The Bluff
“I tried to scream, but I couldn’t. When I saw the man running with my handbag, my intention was to follow him, but at that moment, I didn’t realise I would knock into him. I knew I could not just stay put while there were ruthless criminals after me so I just drove. After I hit him with my car, I stopped. The petrol attendants who witnessed the incident ran to me. One of them grabbed my bag, which flew out of the suspect’s hand on impact, and returned it to me.
“After police spoke to me at the scene and arrested the suspect, I drove to a nearby parking area to gather myself when five men, who were driving a white Toyota Fortuner, stopped beside me. They jumped out and banged my car, demanding that I get out. I thought this was the second vehicle operating with the same syndicate and managed to drive off. I drove in the direction of a petrol station where I knew I could get assistance if I stopped, but the suspects were close behind me.
“A truck driver, who had witnessed the incident from the mall, had also followed me, and when he drove his truck in front of the suspects’ vehicle, they sped off. I thank the driver of the truck who stayed with me along the way without me even knowing it,” Ward said.
Since the incident, Ward has been overwhelmed with the tremendous support she has received.
Bidvest McCarthy Toyota Edwin Swales has paid for the damages to Ward’s vehicle, and she thanks her community and social media users for the outpouring of support and empathy.
“I am glad that the man I knocked survived the accident. I have had sleepless nights since the incident, and it brought back all the trauma I suffered when I was attacked and robbed in Johannesburg in 2013.
“As much as we are all sick and tired of crime, watching our backs wherever we go and living on edge, I never want to be a murderer, and I thank God that neither I nor the suspects were killed during the incident.
“I am grateful to everyone who helped me or tried to assist during the incident. I am most grateful to my saviour, Jesus Christ, whom I believe took the wheel during the moment and saved me from harm,” Ward said.
KZN and Brighton Beach police did not respond to questions at the time of going to print.
Ward councillor Zoë Solomon said she was proud of her community for rallying around to support Ward and urged residents to join the march.
“We want to create awareness in the community that we have these serious crimes in our ward, and we will highlight how to report these types of crimes.
“We will tackle many issues, and after the march, there will be experts providing residents with vital information which will enable us to unite against crime,” Solomon said.
Residents must make their own placards for the march.
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