Man saves would-be hijack victim
A good Samaritan has been hailed a hero after rescuing a Pinetown woman from her attackers.
|||Durban - ”You were so brave.” These were the words of Kloof resident Vicky Butler, as she looked gratefully at the bloodied and bruised good Samaritan who saved her from hijackers on Friday.
Warren James was hailed as a hero in Pinetown when he rescued Butler from her attackers in Oppenheimer Street around 9am.
Butler said she had just pulled into the parking area at her workplace when there was a sudden loud banging on her window.
“There were three men around my car, and one was hitting my car with a hammer. I had this feeling of terrible evil.
“As I tried reversing out, he (Warren) stopped his car in the road, as he’d seen what was happening to me.
“They ran to his car and I saw them drag him out of his car and start beating him.
“Then another lady drove up, and at that point they ran away down the road,” said Butler.
Hugging James at the scene later in the morning, Butler told him: “You were so brave. I couldn’t believe you were fighting so hard.”
James said when he saw Butler’s car surrounded by the three attackers, he stopped his vehicle and started shouting at them.
“There were these three fellows around the car and, you know, you just need to fix the situation,” said James, who had spotted that one suspect was carrying a firearm, while the second had a hammer.
As they pulled him out of the car, James broke the ignition key in the lock so they could not steal his car.
“It all happened so quickly. All three got into my car. I got up and wrenched the door open.
“They were all over me - they were like demons. There was no way I was going to give up,” he said.
The men were beating James, including hitting him over the head with the hammer, when Claudia Engelbrecht drove up the road on her way to work.
“I started hooting and kept hooting. It was chaos. I just wanted it to stop. I’ve never seen anything like it, except on TV,” said Engelbrecht.
At this point, the men left James and ran away down the road.
SA Can’s Andreas Mathios said they received a call for assistance at their incident management control room from a member of the public.
“We arrived at the scene and waited with the victims for the police, who arrived shortly afterwards.
“This guy knew there was a firearm, yet he put his life on the line,” said Mathios.
Sheldon Blom, who also works in Oppenheimer Street, said James phoned him from the scene to come and assist him.
“Two ladies at the scene were frantic. Warren was bleeding, but he kept asking me if the lady (Butler) was all right,” said Blom.
While there were rumours that the three suspects had hijacked a bakkie just after leaving the scene in Oppenheimer Road, police spokesman Major Thulani Zwane said such an incident had not been confirmed. He added that no suspects had been arrested in connection with the attempted hijacking in Oppenheimer Street.
The incident is one in a spate of hijackings or attempted hijackings across the city in the past two weeks.
On Wednesday night, an elderly couple were held up by armed men as they pulled into their driveway off Mountbatten Drive in Reservoir Hills. They were forced into the house and shot and stabbed.
Police confirmed they were investigating a case of house robbery and attempted murder.
The previous week, father-of-two Leon Maistry from Isipingo was shot and killed during an attempted hijacking, while on the same day a Verulam family were hijacked and robbed in Asherville.
Meanwhile, on Sunday night this week a hijacker was shot during a botched hijacking in Mariannhill Park.
Blue Security operations manager Brian Jackson said an armed response officer was called to the scene of an attempted hijacking.
“A hijacker had tried to hold up a couple who were sitting in their car outside a property in Holzner Road, but one of the victims pulled out a firearm and shot the hijacker in the head,” said Jackson.
The suspect tried to flee, but collapsed in his getaway vehicle. He was taken to hospital and Pinetown. SAPS attended the scene.
Jackson said yesterday: “There has been a spike in contact crimes and shootings, with several violent hijackings and armed robberies reported over the past few days.
“Criminals stake out their victims before striking, so it is important to be aware of your surroundings, especially when you arrive home or at your business premises to open or lock up.
“Driveways are one of the most vulnerable places for hijackings, so be vigilant before pulling into your driveway,” he said.
Independent on Saturday
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