Peer vows rock throwing will not be tolerated

Published Jan 31, 2018

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Durban - Nirvana Naidoo has read and heard numerous stories of rock throwing from overhead bridges but never thought she would fall victim to this new modus operandi of criminals.

The 29-year-old Unisa student was returning to her Berea home from Chatsworth when her BMW was struck with a rock just past the cement factory on the N2 North on Monday mid-day.

“While driving on the middle lane, I heard a loud bang. It had not crossed my mind that a rock was thrown at my car as there was no bridge around. I assumed it was from debris on the road.”

She continued to drive for about a minute and then inspected her car.

“From the passenger mirror, I noticed two figures crouching in the bush and moving towards my car. That’s when I realised they probably threw a rock at my vehicle, which would result in me stopping.”

She said she rolled down her window and threw her purse outside.

“I wanted to show them I had nothing on me, so they would leave me alone. But I felt scared in case they still came after me.”

Naidoo said she continued to drive, in the emergency lane, until she could re-join the freeway.

“I don’t know why I threw my purse on to the road. I think I just panicked.”

Police have confirmed the incident.

At around the same time , eThekwini deputy mayor Fawzia Peer was in the skies to garner a bird’s eye view of troublesome rock-throwing hot spots.

Peer teamed up with Rivaaj Ramdas, of the Tactical Shooting Team, who organised for her to take a helicopter ride around the city with Reaction Unit South Africa’s Prem Balram.

They hovered over various bridges, on the N2, N3, M1 Higginson Highway and M41, where incidents have been reported.

“Rock throwing cannot be tolerated any longer. Innocent people are losing their lives,” said Peer, who chairs the city’s Safety and Emergency Committee.

“My teams have done an audit and we have requested the Department of Transport and the South African National Roads Agency lower the signage that covers the bridges as rock throwers stand behind it.

“We will have brighter lighting in areas that require it and we will maintain the vegetation around the bridges where criminals hide. I have metro police and SAPS patrolling bridges day and night.”

Ramdas said the recent deaths of siblings Amina Haffejee, 16, and Abdur Raheem, 7, who were killed when a rock was thrown at the car they were travelling in on the N2 near Ballito, would not be in vain.

“Residents are rallying together with the police and their community policing forums to help curb rock-throwing incidents. We will not stop in our fight to protect citizens.”

Balram said he had responded to incidents months before the siblings’ vehicle was targeted.

“Hearing about these increasing incidents is worrying,” said Balram, who intends using the company’s helicopter to locate and weed out perpetrators.

Meanwhile, Farhaad Mohamed, 45, of Chatsworth, who was targeted on Saturday afternoon, is thankful he managed to avoid possible disaster.

“Had it been one second earlier, the rock would have hit my windscreen instead of my sunroof and who knows what might have happened to me,” said Mohamed, who drives a VW Golf 7 GTI.

“I was driving on the Higginson Highway from Shallcross to Umhlatuzana and when I got to the Unit 10 bridge, I heard a bang.

"The rock bounced off my sunroof and shattered the glass above me. It then bounced towards the back of the car. I continued to drive for about 2km until I stopped to assess the damage.”

He said the rock was thrown with force.

Despite the damage, he will continue to use the Higgingson Highway. “There is no other way. That is the only route I use.”

Mohamed said he had reported the incident at the Chatsworth police station.

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