A mother and her two young children survived a harrowing ordeal in the early hours of this morning, after her children were left behind during an armed robbery on a highway near Pretoria.

Surprise Sithole (36), mother of two children aged six and two, told Kormorant about the family’s horrific ordeal in the early morning hours after they hit a rock barricade on the N4.

Sithole and her children were driving on the N4 shortly before 03:00 on their way to Mpumalanga when she encountered large rocks on the highway in the De Wildt area near the border between North West and Gauteng.

According to Sithole, the vehicle hit the rocks and it veered off the road. She couldn’t drive any further.

A truck stopped next to the road to help them and Sithole got into the truck to call for help.

“While I was sitting in the truck trying to call for help, armed robbers came out of the bush, pointed a gun at us and the truck driver sped away with me, leaving my small children behind in my car. I was out of my mind. All I could think of was that they were going to kill my children.”

The truck driver said he could not stop and kept on driving.

In the meantime PPS Security in Brits received a call about a possible robbery on the N4 and rushed to the scene along with AfriForum neighbourhood watch members.

“We found the abandoned car but no one was there. Then a bypassing motorist stopped and told us he had just passed to two small children walking in the middle of the road. I drove and found the small boy and girl on the highway,” said Ruan van Vuuren of PPS Security.

He picked up the children and the boy told him his mother was gone.

“He could give me his mother’s name. We went back to the scene and then heard from the police that the mother had called from the Engen fuel station on the N4 in Pretoria where the truck driver dropped her off. Sinoville police brought her back to the accident scene where she was reunited with her unharmed children.”

Sithole said the relief of knowing her children were safe was overwhelming.

“Thanks to God, they were not harmed. My boy told me the robbers smashed the car windows and took my bag and luggage and asked for my phone. After the robbers left, he undid the safety belts and began walking with his sister. I want to thank PPS for helping my children and keeping them safe. My boy is traumatised and we are doing our best to calm him down.”

Van Vuuren said while they were on the scene five more cars and a truck stopped after driving over spikes or rocks nearby.

Kobus Grobler of Afriforum Brits neighbourhood watch who was on the scene said something will have to be done urgently to address the robberies on the N4. “Motorists are being terrorised on this road and urgent action is needed.”