Asherville family shocked stolen car used in violent shootout that blocked N2
“WE JUST thank God that they didn’t shoot us because it’s now obvious we were not dealing with ordinary car thieves.”
Those were the words of Asherville resident Clive Naicker, who spoke to the Sunday Tribune yesterday after the family’s Mercedes-benz that was stolen last week made headlines on Friday when its occupants were involved in a shoot-out with the police on the N2, outside Durban – causing the traffic backlog.
The family was held up by four armed robbers at their home who demanded the keys to the luxury sedan on the evening of July 28.
“They were aggressive and very clear on what they wanted. They had all of us flat on the floor and put guns to my head and my cousin’s head then demanded the keys to the car.
“I suppose they couldn’t resist because on their way out they took the TV, my wife’s laptop, cellphones and wallets,” Naicker said.
He said the experience was very traumatic for all of them and after a few days they started losing hope of ever seeing the stolen car. That was until it went viral on social media on Friday after the shoot-out.
In that incident, police received a tip-off that the suspects were on their way to commit a robbery and a chase ensued.
The gang opened fire on the police vehicle as it closed in on them. As the Mercedes tried to push the police vehicle off the road, the two collided and the high-speed impact saw both vehicles rolling across the freeway, from northbound to southbound, which affected other cars which were travelling on the same road.
Debbie Stephen, 58, who was caught in the crash is currently being treated in a Durban hospital after she suffered a fractured pelvis, broken arm, cracked ribs, fractured breast bone and a concussion.
“We are all traumatised about what happened. She has internal swelling and she is in a lot of pain but now we are just hoping the swelling goes down soon because she has to undergo surgery,” said Debbie’s daughter-in-law Jayden Stephen.
“She was speaking to me on the hands free when I heard loud noises. I immediately got worried and asked if she was okay but all she could say was, ‘Jay please get help,’ then told me where she was,” Stephen said.
Three of the suspects died on the scene and the fourth in hospital but provincial police spokesperson Lieutenant-colonel Thulani Zwane said that the fifth suspect
had survived and was under police guard in hospital.
“Once the surviving thug is discharged from hospital, he will be facing a number of charges including attempted murder, possession of property suspected to be stolen as well as possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition,” he said.