Tuks student recalls highway robbery nightmare

A 21-year-old Tuks student recently told Rekord of her ordeal when robbers used a rock placed in the road to force her off the highway and robbed her.

Odette Strydom from Waverley in Pretoria was on her way to an interview in Heidelberg last month when the incident happened.

Her car hit the rock on the N3 highway towards Nigel, only a couple of kilometres from the R23 exit.

She then slowly drove to the side of the road.

“I immediately phoned my boyfriend to come and help me,” she said.

While she was waiting, three men suddenly started screaming and knocking on the car windows, demanding she unlocks the doors.

One of the men was armed, pointing a firearm at her.

“It was then when I realised that I was being robbed,” she said.

“When I opened the doors, he pressed the firearm to my head, telling me to hand over all my belongings.”

These included her cellphone, her laptop which was lying on the backseat and her purse.

“There wasn’t a lot of money in my wallet – only about R90. They asked if it was all I had. I told them I am a student and do not have lots of money. The man with the firearm took the money and threw the wallet at me.”

Strydom said while the armed thief searched her car for her belongings, another had his hand on her leg holding her down onto the seat.

Not knowing what they were saying to each other, she grew afraid.

“They asked me what the damage was to the vehicle. I began crying and told them that I hit a rock, my wheel was flat and I cannot drive any further.”

The three robbers laughed at her and said they know what happened, but they wanted to know what the damage was.

“It was then I realised they had put the rock on the road and that it was all planned.”

After asking her if anyone was coming to help her, the armed thief pressed the gun to her head and told her to drive off or else he would shoot her.

She closed the door and drove off slowly while still on the side of the road. After about two kilometres, help finally came.

Her boyfriend waited with her for the towing truck.

Later that night, they went to the Heidelberg police station to report the robbery. Upon arrival, they met another victim who had experienced a similar ordeal at the same spot.

“We ended up hugging each other and crying together in the police station. We then had to go back to the scene so that the police officials could identify where it had taken place,” she said.

Strydom said she tried telling a police officer that one of the robbers had left his fingerprints all over the car.

“The officer, however, told me to be quiet and let him do his job; he wasn’t doing much to assist me either way.”

After writing her affidavit and getting a case number, they left the station saddened that the police could not do much to help.

Strydom luckily did not sustain any injuries.

According to the Africa Health Organisation, a woman is murdered every three hours in South Africa. Due to the high rate of gender-based violence, she feels blessed to be able to live to tell her story.

“I often hear about such incidents happening but I never thought that it would happen to me,” she said.

She is also thankful to Jacaranda FM, Good Morning Angels and SPAR Women’s Virtual Challenge because they helped replace her belongings.

With the help of those around her, she was able to get to the interview the following morning. After months of searching, she landed the job.

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