Glenwood mom relives hijack fear

DURBAN 03/06/2014. HIJACKERS SHOT ON N 2NORTH BOUND.

DURBAN 03/06/2014. HIJACKERS SHOT ON N 2NORTH BOUND.

Published Jun 5, 2014

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Durban - A week after a harrowing hijacking, a Glenwood resident had to endure the news that the car had been shot up and a man had died inside it.

The hijack victim, who asked to be known as Michelle, told the Daily News on Wednesday that she was still suffering from trauma after the incident last Thursday.

Police spokesman Captain Thulani Zwane said three men had approached Michelle in Bartle Road, Umbilo, and taken her vehicle at gunpoint.

On Tuesday, four men used the car to commit a burglary in Verulam. While the car was speeding off, police and a private security company gave chase. The men in the car shot at police, who returned fire.

Zwane said Khehla Thusi, 22, who was in the back seat of the Polo, died at the scene on the N2 northbound freeway.

Michelle, a secretary for an attorneys’ office in Durban, had parked outside her daughter Jessica’s friend’s home at 7pm. She saw three men walking a few metres behind the car.

“I saw them in the mirror. I told Jessica to wait and let them walk past first. But they did not,” Michelle said.

She said one of the men went to Jessica’s door and tried to open it. Another man walked in front of the car, waving the gun at Michelle, gesturing for her to get out. When she unlocked the door, one of the men pulled her daughter out and then tried to push her out.

“I was in shock… When he waved the gun I put my hand above my head and said, ‘Don’t shoot.’ I grabbed my phone from the console and stepped out. He grabbed my phone. I thought he was going to pull the trigger,” she said.

“They were young, jittery and very nervous… It was an opportunist crime.”.

Michelle said the Polo had been a gift, a year ago, for Jessica’s 19th birthday.

Soon after the incident on the N2, a friend posted a picture on Facebook, asking Michelle if the shot-up car in the picture was her daughter’s.

“The car is insured, but my heart sank… I believe it has bullet holes and bloodstains. I won’t accept this car… it will give me a mental breakdown,” said Michelle.

Zwane said two men, aged 19, would appear in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Thursday. The third suspect, 20, was under police guard in hospital.

A Norinco pistol with ammunition, cellphones and jewellery were recovered.

Daily News

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