In reality every driver is a potential target of this criminal activity, which only takes a few seconds to change your life.
“We were driving in the Central Business District (CBD) when three suspects tried to hijack us,” a woman, who wishes to stay anonymous, shared her ordeal.
They were three in the car, on their way to help a woman in Extension 5 whose house burnt down.
“Thank God that my friend’s son, who was driving us to Extension 5, locked the vehicle’s doors. If he hadn’t done that, we would be just another statistic,” the woman said.
As it was just after 17:30 a lot of traffic was seen driving towards Vosman. This made the traffic flow slow.
“Suddenly three youngsters appeared around the car. They were shouting ‘lift, lift!’ while grabbing the door handles. I can clearly recall their eyes and their teeth as they tried to open the doors. But just as they appeared, they disappeared after realizing the doors were locked.
“This does not just happen to other people, this happened to us. This can also happen to you. Please keep your doors locked and your windows closed, these criminals know what they are doing,” the woman said.
In just three days four car hijackings were reported at Witbank Police Station.
Mr Amos Mtombeni (55) also became a statistic when he was allegedly robbed at gunpoint on October 31 at 18:20.
Mtombeni said he was driving towards an Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) in the CBD when he was confronted by two suspects. One of the suspects had a firearm.
The suspects took Mtombeni’s Chev bakkie, his wallet and also his cell phone.
A 26-year-old man was shot at when he fell prey to hijackers a few hours later at 21:00.
The man said he was on the corner of Beatty and Arras streets when another car allegedly bumped his Golf from the back.
In the statement he made at the police station, he explained he pulled over to check the damage and two men from the car that bumped him walked towards him.
As he looked up he saw a man pointing a firearm at him.
The suspect apparently fired two shots in his direction and he made a run for it.
The suspects fled with the man’s Golf, his cell phone, wallet, cash and other items that were still in the vehicle.
A 17-year-old boy had to explain why his father’s car was allegedly hijacked.
The boy said he took his father’s car to pick up his friend at a hotel in Mandela Street.
In his statement to the police, the boy said he could not find his friend and decided to turn back. He said he took the wrong road and stopped to ask three men for directions.
Instead of helping him find his way, they allegedly pointed a firearm at him and he said they assaulted him and took the car.
Hijackings are not just centred in certain parts of the city.
Mr Dustin Prinsloo’s (31) car was hijacked in Extension 8 on the corner of Watermeyer and Stevenson streets.
Prinsloo said in statement to the police that he stopped in the area to make a phone call.
“Out of nowhere four men came into sight, three were armed,” he said.
He said the men pointed firearms at him and his friend Freddy Nelson, dragged them out of his VW Polo, searched them and took their cell phones and also their wallets before they fled in his car.
“Keep away from deserted areas and do not stop. If you do not feel safe, drive to your nearest police station or even a filling station where there are a lot of people. Most importantly, keep your doors locked,” Capt Eddie Hall, spokesperson for Witbank SAPS, urged.
