Everson Luhanga
A woman and her car have emerged without a scratch from a terrifying hijacking attempt after a group of heroic taxi drivers stepped in and sent the thugs packing.
The woman was on her way back from work last Thursday when she was blocked off and her car, a white VW Caddy, was hijacked at gunpoint.
“Suspects blocked her way with a white Almera and one of them pointed at her with a firearm. They jumped into her car and drove off with her,” said Johannesburg police spokesperson Captain Xoli Mbele.
But the dim-witted felons must have decided against driving away with the victim, and sealed their own fate by deciding to dump her at the Faraday taxi rank in the Johannesburg city center.
The moment the thugs pushed the woman out of the car, she screamed for help, and the quick-thinking taxi drivers on the scene immediately blocked their escape route out of the rank.
The duo tried to run away, but only one of them succeeded, while his partner in crime was swiftly apprehended. The drivers called the police who promptly came and arrested him.
To the joy of the victim, she was unharmed and her car didn’t suffer so much as a scratch in the ordeal.
Captain Mbele said that the police apprehended a 26-year-old male for possession of a hijacked motor vehicle.
The Scrolla.Africa team visited the Faraday taxi rank where the woman was dumped.
One of the taxi drivers on the scene, who referred to himself only as Mandla, said as taxi operators, they try their best to make everyone safe.
“Whether they are our customers or just a member of the public, everyone needs to feel safe,” he said.
“I am glad we helped the hijacked woman.”
Johannesburg Central Station Commander Brigadier Perumal commended a good working relationship between the police and the taxi drivers.
Image source: @FaradayTaxiAssociation
