Alex McLean, a 38-year-old resident from Bedfordview, Johannesburg, and army reservist, recently demonstrated exceptional courage and quick thinking when he intervened to save a schoolgirl from alleged kidnappers in a harrowing incident near Bedfordview High School.

His heroic actions earned him June’s title of community hero from the Resident’s Action Group (Rag).

McLean was driving from his Wychwood offices, where he operates a renovation company, when he noticed three terrified school girls running for their lives.

The schoolgirls were walking in a group after school when they were approached by the kidnappers in a red Uno.

“They looked so petrified, bags flying, looking backwards and just running. That’s when I started to wonder what was happening because I could not see around that corner. I investigated and spotted a red Uno,” explained McLean.

“It was the only car that was on the road. Then I saw a tiny girl, who is in matric, kicking, screaming, punching and fighting for her life. A man trying to grab her and pull her to the car,” he said.

He then manoeuvred his vehicle to block their path. They noticed his approach and threw the girl out of the vehicle.

They attempted to reverse, causing both vehicles to collide.

“She shouted ‘they have a gun’. I put my car in reverse, not knowing how badly I had damaged my radiator,” he stated.

The passenger of the Uno and the driver escaped on foot.

“At this point, I realised I didn’t know how badly hurt she might be. As I drove to her I was hooting all the way trying to make as much noise as possible.

“I parked and grabbed the little girl. I just hugged her and she just collapsed and started to cry, then I collapsed and cried with her,” he said.

He added that police arrived an hour and a half later but that local security companies were already on the scene at that time.

The authorities discovered additional cellphones inside the abandoned vehicle.

It was later revealed that the culprits had also stolen her phone at gunpoint before attempting to kidnap her.

The collision with the kidnappers’ car left McLean’s vehicle severely damaged. His insurance wrote it off.

At the moment McLean finds himself without reliable transportation, impacting both his personal life and his renovation business.

Reflecting on the incident, he said he was happy to know that he had saved a life.

“Knowing that she’s alive because of me it’s rewarding. It was also emotional because on that same day, I was listening to the radio and they were talking about a girl that was found dead in a field.

“When I saw the commotion, I told myself ‘they are not taking another girl or another child, not on my watch’,” he said.