Woman’s trauma as man punches her car

A Beacon Bay woman is traumatised by what she felt was an attack on her on Old Transkei Road heading downhill on Thursday afternoon.

Sandy Stephen, 58, an employee of a well-known property management company, said she froze when an “aggressive” man started punching her window with a fist for a full three minutes, while the other hand was trying to open the door. The incident caused a traffic backup.

“I was trapped. He just stopped in front of me so I could not pull out and all the cars behind me as you come down that hill, they all just piled up behind me as you go to the robots at the bottom.

“I couldn’t even escape myself because he was standing there at my door trying to smash it, and I couldn’t drive out.”

Stephen said: “All I was thinking was that he has a gun or a knife in his pocket and I was just trapped.”

Stephen said the man had three other occupants inside his old and grey Toyota hatchback, with a GP registration.

She said it started when she noticed a vehicle being driven recklessly as she started down the hill.

Stephen said the car cut in front of her and stopped. She had flicked her lights at the man and she shook her hand.

The driver jumped out and and punched her door.

He stopped when she pulled out her cellphone to dial for help and take a photograph.

Optimum security company’s manager, Jackie Schmidt, said a car, which resembled the one described by Stephen, has been on the radar of the company for two weeks in connection with a spate of robberies.

“We have been searching for the car in connection with crimes in Dorchester Heights and Forest Road,” said Schmidt.

Stephen said she did not open a case with the police as she did not think she had evidence.

EL police spokesman Hazel Mqala said there was nothing they could do if a case was not reported.