Doctor, 76, hurt in horror Bay hijacking
Shots fired as four gunmen strike in broad daylight outside elderly woman’s home
When I drove up the driveway I saw another car drive up and stop parallel to me in the driveway
ASEMI-RETIRED doctor was admitted to hospital yesterday after she was hijacked and had her foot driven over at her Summerstrand home. During the incident, a shot was fired by one of the four men involved – shattering the back windscreen of Doreen Noah’s Mercedes-Benz.
Noah, 76, said the hijacking was “the worst experience I have ever had – I didn’t think I would be alive”.
After dropping her son off at the airport at about 10am yesterday morning, Noah said she had gone to town to collect a few boxes of medication before returning home.
“When I drove up the driveway I saw another car drive up and stop parallel to me in the driveway.
“A gentleman came to my car with a gun in his hand. I was so shocked, I thought it was a toy gun. He pointed it at me . . . I got so scared. I hooted hoping my helper or gardener would come and help.
“A shot rang out and hit the back window behind me. I heard four more shots and then opened the door to get out . . . and didn’t remove the keys,” she said.
Noah said she had fallen while getting out of the car and the robber had stolen the car and driven over her right foot.
Noah, who has been living in the same house since 1995, said her neighbours had run outside to see what had happened.
“Everybody was shocked – one neighbour phoned the police and within no time they were there.
“It was terrible. I was confused and didn’t know what was going on,” she said.
After being assisted by her neighbours, Noah was taken by ambulance to St George’s Hospital, where she was treated for shock, a gash to her right knee and a “tiny fracture” to her left ankle before being discharged and taken back home.
“You see these things happen in movies. It felt as if I was in a horror movie,” she said.
Noah said while she was at the hospital she had received a call from the police who informed her that they had located her car behind the Forest Hill Cemetery.
She said all that was missing was her handbag, which had R5 000 cash in it, her Samsung Galaxy cellphone and all her cards.
“They got what they wanted – my bag and some money,” she said.
According to police, shortly after the hijacking, the police helicopter circled the Bay searching for the car before spotting it abandoned near the cemetery.
Police spokesman Warrant Officer Alwin Labans said it was suspected that the elderly woman had been followed home by men driving a silver Chevrolet.
By midday, the stolen Mercedes was impounded for forensic experts to comb it for evidence, and the bullet casings were taken to the ballistics laboratory.
A case of hijacking is under investigation.