A spur of the moment decision to help a fellow South African in need resulted in Krugersdorp resident Cobie Roux, 64 being hailed as a hero.
On Monday, 3 November, Cobie unknowingly thwarted a car hijacking on Hendrik Potgieter Drive, opposite the Hillfox Center.
“I was on my way home from Weltevreden Park at 11.30am when I saw a white Mercedes Benz and a silver vehicle standing in the yellow line next to the road. I saw the driver of the Mercedes Benz being beaten, and it was then that I decided to turn around and see if I could help,” she said. She added that she thought it might have been a possible road rage incident.
It was only after I stopped my vehicle in front of the man’s Mercedes, that I realized it was actually a car hijacking that was playing out in front of me. I got out of my vehicle and immediately shouted for the spectators to help,” said Cobie.
According to Cobie, there were two men trying to hijack the car; one was in the passenger seat and the other one was already trying to get away with the car, and she explained, “It seemed like the man sitting behind the wheel did not know how to put the vehicle in reverse, and he could not drive forward either, because my car was in his way. While struggling to get away, the other suspect got out of the car and ran away. the next moment, the man behind the wheel, also got out, and stormed towards me. I was too late to lock my door, and he tried to pull me out of the car by my neck and arms, but could not manage it.
He then tried to climb on my lap to take my car but did not succeed. He got out, and angrily pointed towards me with his thumb and index finger (as children will do when they play cowboys and crooks) and said, ‘I’m going to shoot you’.”
When she did not respond to this statement, the man punched her in the face, and she said, “He hit me so hard that my glasses broke and I saw stars”.
His attempt to flee the scene was unsuccessful, as the bystanders chased him and caught him. Cobie said, “One of the bystanders, a taxi driver, hit the suspect with a knobkierie, while the others also got in a few blows and kicks before the police arrived, and arrested him.”
Cobie concluded, “I was not scared at all, not during or after the incident. There was not a single moment during this incident that I felt like this guy was going to kill me. I’m not a hero, it is just who I am, I always help where I can. “
The Northsider, the News’ sister publication, contacted the victim of hijacking, Leon Botha, from Krugersdorp, but he did not respond to our requests.
His daughter, Bernice Botha, did post the following on her Facebook page, after the incident, “This wonderful woman helped my father today when they tried to hijack him! You were an angel and we are so thankful you heeded call to action! #makeherfamous #angelfromabove “.
