A 42-year-old man lost his right eye when a brick flung at his car on the R300, smashed through the windscreen and into his face.
The man, from Schaapkraal, who asked not to be identified, suffered a cracked skull and broken nose in the attack which happened on Friday July 12. Four days later he had to have his right eye removed.
The man told the Plainsman he had been driving along the R300 with a colleague, around 8pm, from their workplace in Paarl.
“I saw a man pushing a trolley walking past the van and slowing the vehicle down. I then heard a bang and I blacked out,” he said.
After the brick was thrown through the windscreen, the man looked up in a daze and saw blood. His colleague shouted at him, telling him not to get out of the van as five men ran towards the car from the bushes, he said.
“God was with me. I went into survival mode to get away fast,” he said.
“We drove to the nearest petrol station in Highlands Drive looking for help.”
The workers at the petrol station, he said, had been shocked to see his condition and his colleague suggested they leave to find someone who could help them. So, they drove to Retreat Hospital where he was treated before being transferred to Groote Schuur Hospital for further treated.
“I need to go for regular check-ups after this happened to me. I do not know the (possible) repercussions of my cracked skull and broken nose. I don’t know how this will affect me. I am still in a lot of pain,” he said.
He was discharged from Groote Schuur on Thursday July 18. “It is hard to explain how I feel,” he said. “I feel like I don’t need my life anymore. I am not eligible to work right now, I need to recover,” he said.
His wife, 31, who also asked not to be identified, said her husband was the breadwinner of the family.
“I just broke down when I saw my husband and could hardly get a word out. Our two sons, 10, and 13, are traumatised by the ordeal. They were questioning why him, he is a good person, why should it be him. It’s very hard for them. I am glad that he is alive and that he is with us,” she said.
They tried opening a case but were referred to three different police stations.
The man said: “People should be vigilant when driving at night. We need more lights in those dark roads to see where we are going.”
Western Cape provincial police spokesperson, Sergeant George Mjiwu said they had no record or details of the incident, but added that police and traffic vehicles patrolled the R300.
“In case of an emergency the members of the public can call Crime Stop on 08600 10111 or 021 480 7700 or 112. They can report the incident to their nearest police stations but they must specify the exact location of nearest area where the incident occurred and direction as the R300 is being policed by various police stations such as Samora Machel, Phillippi East, Lentegeur, Delft, Kuils River and Brackenfell,” he said.
