Danger lurks on Main Reef Road

Two riders were robbed of their motorbikes along Main Reef Road in separate incidents earlier this week.

On Monday evening, a biker was hit by an unidentified object, causing him to lose control of his bike and fall.

According to police information, the rider was nearing The Rock Raceway at around 22:15 when he saw four men walk onto the road.

As he approached, he saw one of the men was armed with a gun, and another was holding something.

Shots were fired at the rider as he drove past the group. Objects were also thrown at him, one of which struck him.

After falling from his bike, the men took the rider to a secluded area and robbed him of cash and his cellphone.

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The victim is employed as a delivery driver, and uses the bike for work.

The following evening, at about 19:45, a rider was forced off his motorbike at gunpoint by a group of seven men who had blocked the road.

The men then took his bike into the Plastic City informal settlement. The victim was taken to a field where the hijackers demanded money from him.

When the victim had no cash to give them, the men assaulted him with bricks. He was held captive for about an hour before he was told to run and not look back.

He was robbed of his trousers and shoes. The victim sought help from a passer-by, who took him to the police station.

Hijacking dockets were opened for each case. Criminal incidents along this stretch of road seem to be on the increase.

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As reported in last week’s Brakpan Herald, a woman, still shaken from a car accident, and the good Samaritans who stopped to assist her, found themselves at the mercy of two criminals on this road on October 25.

Four colleagues were travelling near the Weltevreden Landfill Site, when they saw a stationary vehicle in the middle of the road and a woman standing next to the car.

It was around 20:00 so they stopped to see if she required any assistance. The woman told them she had been in an accident, and they offered to help by calling her family, and also pushed her vehicle to the side of the road.

The group was then surprised by two men who had walked up to them and asked what was going on.

After telling the pair there had been an accident, one of the men, who was holding a beer bottle, broke the bottle to use it as a weapon.

The other man pulled out a gun and fired a shot at the ground.

The robbers helped themselves to the group’s belongings, including cellphones with a combined value of around R17 500.

They then fled into the surrounding area.