Woman jumps out of moving vehicle to escape Pietermaritzburg hijacker
A quick-thinking Pietermaritzburg woman escaped a knife-wielding hijacker by leaping from his moving car, leading authorities to track down and arrest him.
In a day of high-action hijacking drama, a Pietermaritzburg woman leapt from a moving car in Pietermaritzburg to escape a knife-wielding serial hijacker on Monday.
The Witness reports that the women’s brave escape resulted in security officers and police swiftly tracking down and apprehending the hijacker, who had already hijacked another vehicle earlier that day.
Mi7 National Group director Colin David says the woman was waiting for her husband outside a shop in Masukwana Street when the man forced his way into the vehicle and threatened her with a knife.
The suspect allegedly took control of the vehicle and sped off with the woman still inside. She managed to jump from the moving vehicle and reported the incident.
“Tracking signals indicated it was headed towards Northdale,” says David.
Mi7’s surveillance and tactical response unit, working with the vehicle’s tracking company, followed the signal to Balhambra Way, where the car was intercepted. The suspect, who did not attempt to flee, was arrested and handed over to the police.
It later emerged that the same man had earlier hijacked another vehicle in Gandhi Road. The car’s owner, who asked not to be named, says he was leaving for work when the attacker struck.
“I was saying goodbye to my young child when I saw this man walking with a walking stick, and I did not think anything of it.
“The next moment, he dropped the walking stick, ran to my car and forced the door open. I tried to fight him off, but he fled with the car. I was then called when the car was found in Manor,” he says.
Both vehicles were recovered, and the suspect was linked to both hijackings.
In a separate incident, a man was hijacked of a Polo TSI outside a club in the vicinity of West and Greyling streets in the early hours last Saturday. The vehicle was recovered on Sunday.
Police had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publishing.
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