A Verulam man was taken on a terror ride by three hijackers, one of whom then crashed his vehicle into a barrier on Ruth First Highway in Durban North.
The men then fled with his cash after the vehicle flipped.
The incident occurred on Saturday around 10.30pm.
The 23-year-old, who works as a assistant manager at an uMhlanga restaurant, told POST he was lucky to be alive.
“My dad fetched me from the restaurant at 10.15pm. At a nearby shop, as he was getting out of our vehicle, a 4x4, one of the hijackers approached him and pushed him aside. Before I could react, another hijacker was on my side; he opened my door and held a sharp object to my rib cage.”
The part-time student, who requested anonymity for his safety, said the hijacker told him not to scream or panic because he would be killed.
“I remained silent, calm and followed his instructions. He sat in the passenger seat and the other hijacker sat in the driver’s seat. I was lodged between them for a while before the third suspect entered the vehicle and I was again instructed to sit in the back seat with my head down.”
He said the men took off at high speed towards the highway. “I am not sure how fast they were going but I could feel the vehicle moving faster. “Within seconds I felt the vehicle hit a barrier and it flipped. The hijackers jumped out of the vehicle and ran off.”
He said he managed to crawl out of the vehicle and, using his cellphone, alerted family and police to what had happened.
“I injured my arm. My dad is doing okay. He was in shock and managed to get help from the shop.”
He described the incident as traumatic.
Brian Jackson from Blue Security, which had officers at the scene, advised motorists to be especially vigilant when arriving home and leaving work.
Police spokesman Major Thulani Zwane said no arrests had been made.