Durban - A Durban man who raised the alarm when a Berea jogger was held at gunpoint and forced into a car on Monday said he would not have been able to be at peace if he had done nothing to help her.
The 25-year-old man, who did not want his identity revealed, said he had just dropped off a friend in Manning Road at about 4.30am on Monday when a silver-grey VW Polo Vivo pulled off in front of his car. He saw the woman jogging towards the two cars and one of the robbers opened the door, stepped out and blocked the woman.
“Initially I thought I was being hijacked. The guy pointed a gun at the woman and said: ‘Let’s go to your home now and if you do not co-operate I will kill you,’” he said.
The robbers forced the woman into the car and drove off. While shocked and still coming to terms with the situation, the man decided to follow the car.
“I had heard the conversation and knew they were criminals. While following the car, I dialled 10111 and notified the police,” he said.
When he turned into Cato Road, where the car was parked outside a property, he went to a Blue Security guard hut.
“I asked the guard if the car had just parked, how many people were in it and if there was a woman with them. The guard said yes and I told him to alert the Blue Security control room,” he said.
Security guards from the private company arrived in a few minutes and police came after them.
“We mobilised outside the property and while we were standing there the armed man came out of the house holding the woman as a shield. He told us not to move because if anyone came closer he would shoot the woman.”
The other two suspects had fled.
The gun was pointed at the woman’s head and the gunman was holding her very close.
“The victim was surprised to see all the people outside the property, but I commend her for remaining calm. She co-operated with the gunman, listening to all the instructions and doing as told,” he said.
The gunman managed to walk with the woman to the car and forced her into the car. As he started the car, a security guard from Blue Security started shooting the tyres, but he drove off.
The police gave chase and the man drove at high speed, despite the flat tyres. When he got to Chesterville, the man abandoned the car and fled into the bush.
“I also followed and assisted with the search, but I quickly came back to the house because I was concerned about the woman’s family who were inside and had no idea what had happened,” he said.
When he got to the house, he found the woman’s husband and explained what had happened. Police brought the woman back home.
“We sat together and they really appreciated what I had done and I felt good that I managed to help her,” he said.
“To some degree I was scared, but I could not turn a blind eye and pretend I had not seen anything - my conscience would not allow me.
The man said if faced with a similar situation again, “if it was within my powers, I would do something”.
“We cannot allow crime in our society. We need to build the society and help each other. We must have each other’s backs,” he said.
Blue Security operations manager Brian Jackson said the other two suspects jumped over a wall and fled.
“The woman was not physically injured. It was unclear whether anything had been stolen from the property.
Jackson commended the motorist’s vigilance.
“It shows that citizens are looking after one another and prepared to work together with the police and security companies to fight crime,” he said.
Police spokesman Thulani Zwane confirmed the incident and said they were investigating a case of kidnapping and attempted armed robbery.
They had made no arrests.
The Mercury