Johannesburg - A 15-year-old schoolboy was slightly injured when he was dragged by a car along Beyers Naude Drive in Montgomery Park, Randburg, after his cellphone was stolen, a DA councillor said on Friday.
On Thursday around 3pm, the teenager and a friend were walking home from school when a car stopped next to them on Beyers Naude Drive, between West Park Cemetery and Emmarentia Botanical Gardens, Ward 87 councillor Amanda Forsythe said.
A man jumped out of the car and grabbed the teenager's cellphone, witnesses told Forsythe.
“The brave kid fought back and tried to get cellphone back. He grabbed on to the vehicle as it sped off.”
The teenager hung on to the vehicle and was dragged for around 70 metres before the criminals forced him from the car.
A passing motorist, who saw him lying face down in the road, said the teenager was initially unresponsive and had a bloodied nose.
The boy was taken to the Helen Joseph Hospital.
Warrant Officer Richard Munyai confirmed that police attended the scene, but it was not immediately clear whether a case was opened.
Roosevelt High School deputy principal Henk Ferreira said the school was shocked by the incident and concerned about the safety of its pupils once they left the school grounds.
“We are going to send out letters so that parents can be aware of the dangers... It is an indication of the times we live in.”
Pupils were advised to walk home in groups and to conceal valuables so as not to attract the attention of criminals.
Forsythe said there had been a number of muggings in neighbouring areas following the same modus operandi.
“They are opportunistic criminals. Two or three guys in a car spot somebody sitting or walking with a cellphone or computer. The guys jump out, grab it and drive off.
“I still think he was brave to confront the criminals like that, but I definitely wouldn't recommend it to other kids or adults to try the same thing.”
She appealed to parents to teach their children to be more discreet with their valuables in public and, if they were mugged, not to fight back but to rather get the car's registration number to help apprehend the criminals.
Sapa