A man was wounded and a woman and two good Samaritans robbed of their vehicles amid a high-speed chase on the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast, police said on Wednesday.
Superintendent Vincent Mdunge said a woman was hijacked and robbed of her Nissan Almera in Mandini, near the Tugela River, on Tuesday night. As police were investigating the incident, the hijackers made their way south-bound along the N2 highway in their getaway car and the Nissan Almera.
Near Umhlali, about 60km south of Mandini, the hijackers attempted to corner the driver of a Volkswagen Polo Classic.
A high-speed chase ensued as the driver attempted to get away, but as the robbers cornered him their two cars collided.
Both cars rolled. As the robbers scrambled from their car they shot at the driver of the VW Polo Classic, wounding him.
He ran away into the bushes.
The driver of a minibus and a passenger saw the rolled vehicles on the N2.
Mdunge said that the two men, who were unaware of the hijacking attempt, stopped to offer help.
However, as they alighted from minibus the armed men forced them to drive to a nearby automated teller machine (ATM).
There they were both forced to withdraw R500 and then robbed of their cellphones before the robbers fled in their minibus and the Nissan Almera.
Netcare 911 spokesperson Chris Botha said the driver of the VW Polo Classic was admitted to hospital in Ballito with a gunshot wound to the hand.
An R-5 assault rifle and an AK47 assault rifle were found on the crash scene.
Mdunge said the police’s organised crime unit was investigating. It was not exactly known how many robbers there were. — Sapa