An 11-year-old girl from Cape Town is fighting for her life in hospital, after being mowed down by a panicked motorist who was trying to escape from gangsters during a botched hijacking.
The horrific scene in 9th Avenue in Leonsdale, Elsies River, on Monday saw the scared driver of the red VW Golf 6 plough into a wendy house and strike Devoney Gilbert, who was walking home from school.
Residents claim the driver was collecting a puppy he had bought near the Gaba Village informal settlement when opportunistic gangsters pounced on his car.
"He is a foreigner who came to fetch a puppy. The Terribles saw a chance, and they first hijacked him," explained a resident, who asked not to be named.
"They grabbed him out of the car, and he ran into the flats for safety. The community got angry and tackled the gangsters, and made them give him the car back.
"He immediately jumped in to drive away, and that is when they [gangsters] attacked him again and started smashing the windows.
"He sped off to escape from them because he was fearing for his life, and that is when he drove into the girl who was standing by the wendy house.
"The driver ran into another house after the accident and waited for the police," the resident added.
Devoney’s mom, Ivona, 40, was at a nearby scrapyard when residents called her about the collision.
"Devoney is in Grade 5 at Leonsdale Primary School and was walking home at that point," Ivona explained.
"She stopped to watch what was going on, and that is when the car drove into her.
"She was stuck under the car, and they needed to lift it to get her out.
"She is now at Red Cross [War Memorial Children’s Hospital] and has spinal damage and brain damage, and they had to drain blood from her lungs.
“They have not told me when she will go for surgery but she is in a critical condition. Just last week we buried her father who died in a fire. My family is so traumatised,” the mother added.
Police spokesperson Wesley Twigg has confirmed the incident, adding: “Elsies River police are investigating reckless and negligent driving following an incident in Leonsdale, Elsies River, where a vehicle drove into a Wendy house and injured a 11-year-old child.
“The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation. No arrests have been made as yet.”
It is unclear whether the driver of the Golf has opened a criminal case or not.