A man has lost his life on the N12 this morning after he was allegedly shot by someone out of a passing car. The incident comes two weeks after police in eMalahleni warned of a spike in hijackings in the city.

According to preliminary information, the deceased and a passenger were travelling to Johannesburg in a bakkie. A car allegedly came speeding by and fired shots at the vehicle, hitting the driver in his neck.  The incident happened near the Ogies offramp between 03:00 and 04:00.

The passenger managed to grab the bakkie’s steering wheel but failed to regain control of the vehicle resulting in the bakkie crashing into a bus.

The passenger was not injured, but suffered from extreme shock when help arrived on the scene.

Police and members of the Local Criminal Record Centre were on the scene. The investigation is ongoing.

• eMalahleni police spokesperson, Captain Eddie Hall, warned of a spike in hijackings two weeks ago after four incidents were reported over the span of four days.