Durban - Paramedics working for a private ambulance service in Durban were forced to use all their advanced driving skills to speed away from four armed men who tried to hijack them whilst transporting a patient on Sunday night.
Garrith Jamieson, Rescue Care paramedics operations Director, said his ambulance service had responded to Ntuzuma E Section North of Durban to treat a medical emergency patient. Jamieson said the patient was loaded into the ambulance and was being taken to a hospital when the incident occurred.
"The ambulance with two crew members were driving on Ntuzuma Access Road when four men crossed the roadway. The paramedic driving the ambulance was slowing down to navigate speed bumps when he saw the men approaching the vehicle armed with handguns," Jamieson said.
"Reacting instinctively he sped up before the men could act on their intentions. The men then hit the rear of the ambulance and ran after the vehicle pointing firearms at the vehicle," he added.
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Dashcam footage from the Rescue Care ambulance
A dashcam fitted to the ambulance captured a short video clip of the alleged incident. It shows the ambulance slowing down near a speed hump. Three men had crossed over the road and were walking on the oncoming lane. Jamieson said the paramedics and the patient were not injured or harmed. The incident was reported to the South African Police Service in Ntuzuma.