Durban - Durban motorists have warned fellow road users to be vigilant of criminals throwing rocks from bridges after several reports of such incidents at the weekend.
All three incidents took place on the N2 highway before the Umgeni and M19 Interchange.
Motorist Lisa Veerlal said she was left traumatised after a stone was thrown at her vehicle.
Travelling with her husband, Veerlal said the incident happened on Saturday night, just after 9pm.
She said while driving on the N2 south-bound, just after passing Queen Nandi Drive, the car was suddenly hit by an object. She said it smashed the bumper, while some of the fragments hit the windscreen.
“At this point, we suspected that this was an attempt to hijack the vehicle on the freeway, so we proceeded to drive,” she said.
The couple said they drove to the Sydenham Police Station.
“The police immediately ordered a patrol in the area, as another couple reported a similar case before us arriving.
“We are exasperated by the incident, as we recently purchased the vehicle,” said Veerlal, adding that they were thankful they were not injured.
Motorist Kate Levenstein said she and her husband had been travelling on the N2 southbound just after 9.30pm when a brick was thrown at their vehicle.
Levenstein said the brick was thrown from the pedestrian bridge after Nandi Drive, but before the M19 off-ramp. The brick smashed through the windscreen and hit her arm.
“It could have been much worse. We were shaken up but didn’t want to stop so we just kept driving home. We are very grateful that it wasn’t worse,” she said.
She said there were a lot of other cars stopped further down the road that also got hit.
“My husband was driving and he didn’t even realise what had happened. We were very shaken up and it was very scary,” added Levenstein.
Another motorist, Falana de Villiers, said she was on their way home from uMhlanga at about 9pm when the incident took place just before the Umgeni Interchange.
De Villiers said there was a rock in the road and she tried to avoid it, when another rock hit the windscreen.
“It happened really quickly,” said De Villiers, adding that she drove straight to the police station to report the incident.
“The car was towed from the police station, as it was damaged underneath,” she said.
She said even though the incident was traumatic, she was thankful as it could have been much worse.
“There was just glass all over and I had small glass splinters on my face and neck, but I am feeling okay now.” she added.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbele said the case had been reported to the police.
“A case of malicious damage to property was opened.”
Durban Metro police spokesperson Senior Superintendent Parboo Sewpersad said they were yet to receive reports on the incidents.
The Mercury