Road rage turns violent, coach left shaken

What started as a simple walk to work suddenly turned ugly for resident Bongani Duiker after he was assaulted by two men, because of a traffic dispute.

Duiker explained he was on his way to the Greenhills Stadium recently, where he coaches soccer.

He was about to cross Kenneth Road in Greenhills when a vehicle stopped at the four-way stop. He was not aware that the vehicle wanted to turn into the lane, as according to Duiker, the driver didn’t use his indicator. When he was in the middle of the road and the vehicle turned, the driver yelled a racial slur as well as ‘we pay taxes’ to Duiker, to which Duiker responded ‘so do I’.

He continued as he kept walking he noticed the vehicle turning back, coming straight towards him. He claimed he had to jump out of the way so as not to get run over. Both the driver and passenger then jumped out of the vehicle and continued to shout racist remarks, and after back and forth yelling, the driver, and then the passenger as well, physically assaulted him.

Duiker stated he sustained bruises on his head and next to his ear as he was beaten; he also fell on the pavement and hurt his back.

“I was so traumatised by what happened, I had to get counselling. I tried to respect the driver; however, he did not respect me,” said Duiker.

Provincial police spokesperson Captain Tintswalo Sibeko confirmed, “A case of common assault was opened but later closed as undetected following an investigation. It will be reopened once new information is received.”