A Warner Beach resident caught in the crossfire of a cash-in-transit heist on the N2 says she now knows what it feels like to have her life flash before her eyes.

South Coast Sun reports Lulu Smith was driving to Riverhorse Valley when automatic gunfire erupted just after 06:00 yesterday.

“I instinctively slammed on the brakes and ducked under the dashboard as the shots rang out. At that very moment, I recalled the Richards Bay teacher who was struck by stray bullets during a cash-in-transit robbery while on her way to work in November last year. I saw a vision of my funeral and my distraught loved ones as they cried over my casket,” says Smith.

She peeked over the steering wheel and saw cars ahead making U-turns, so she did the same.

ALS Paramedics’ Garrith Jamieson confirmed that several bystanders were shot during the robbery, including a female pedestrian who died. Guards transporting the money were treated for various injuries at the scene and survived. The assailants made off with an undisclosed amount of cash, shooting their way out of the scene. It is alleged they shot another woman in Chatsworth after trying to hijack her Mercedes-Benz.

Both lanes of the N2 between Edwin Swales Drive and Higginson Highway were closed for several hours while police processed the scene and interviewed witnesses.

Smith says surviving the incident unscathed is another reason to be grateful.

“My heart goes out to the families of those who died during this robbery because it could have easily been my family. I really thought and felt I was going to die,” she adds.

Two of the alleged robbers were chased to Durban, where one died in a gun battle with police. The other was arrested and is under heavy police guard in hospital. He will appear in court once he is well enough to stand trial.

Provincial police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said one of the vehicles used in the heist had been hijacked in KwaMakhutha. He added that the suspects have been positively linked to other crimes across the province.