Close shave for woman at toll plaza
A woman sped through the boom gate of a toll plaza in a successful attempt to avoid a hijacking.
A Montana mother and her 17-year-old daughter sped through the boom gate of the Brits toll plaza, north of Pretoria, on Saturday night, determined not to fall victim to a fifth hijacking.
“We were in such a shock,” says Cecilia (43), who did not want to publish her surname.
She has been hijacked four times in the past fifteen years in Gauteng.
“We had no idea what was happening, but knew we had to speed off to avoid being hijacked again.”
Cecilia and her daughter, Micaela, were on their way back home from a friend in Hartebeespoort when they reached the tollgate around 21:30.
“I asked Micaela to get change ready and as we opened the window to pay, the woman sitting in the security booth started yelling hysterically at us to ‘get out’,” says Cecilia.
“The woman did not take our money and kept screaming for us to drive away as fast as we could. I think the hijackers were inside her booth when she warned us. I could not really see much as it was dark and the booth windows were tinted.”
The boom gate buckled as the mother and daughter pair sped to safety.
“We were so shocked and confused and asked a friend to meet us at a nearby bridge to accompany us home. We did not call the police,” she said. “We were in shock and just wanted to get home.”
Cecilia said she was grateful for the woman in the security booth that possibly saved their lives.
“Despite a bit of paint and a scratch from the boom gate on our vehicle’s windscreen, there was no serious damage to us or the vehicle.”
Cecelia said she phoned the office of the toll plaza the following day and was told that the woman had received trauma counselling.
Bakwena spokesperson Ian Simon confirmed the episode and said the matter was being investigated.
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