A Hillcrest woman chased her domestic worker's attacker for more than half an hour until police arrived.
|||Durban - A Hillcrest businesswoman chased her domestic worker’s attacker for more than half an hour until police arrived and arrested him.
Kim Russell, of West Riding, said her employee was attacked, stabbed and robbed of her handbag on Friday. She had been walking towards the bus stop when a man grabbed and dragged her into nearby bushes.
“He stabbed her and robbed her of her handbag,” Russell said.
“A neighbour who had heard the commotion alerted police. But the suspect was long gone by the time they arrived.”
On Monday, the domestic worker SMSed her to pick her up from the bus stop.
“She was afraid to walk down the same road. When I fetched her, she told me about the attack,” Russell said.
“She asked if I could take her to the bank to get a new card. I was on my way to drop the kids at school. I told her we could go to the bank after the school run.”
Russell said that on the way to school, the woman described her attacker. “She said she had seen him in the area several times going through the rubbish bins. She even described his clothing and pointed to a man who looked just like him.”
Seconds later she shouted, “It’s him, it’s him”, Russell said. She dropped her children at school and drove back down the road.
“We stopped right next to him. My maid looked him in the eye and confirmed he was the one who had attacked her. She began trembling with fear and crying. I realised I could not let him get away.”
Russell said she alerted her husband and SA CAN - a community network organisation - and continued to follow the man. “My husband arrived a short while later and tried to make a citizen’s arrest. A scuffle broke out.
“During this time, my husband’s car began rolling down the road,” she said. “It crashed into a tree and the suspect ran off.” Russell decided to chase the man in her car.
“I followed him from street to street for almost half an hour,” she said. “Eventually, police and Enforce Security reaction officers arrived and arrested him.”
Two women - a jogger and another domestic worker - had been attacked on the same street recently. Police were investigating whether the suspect was linked to those cases, Russell said.
A man is expected to appear in court today on charges of attempted murder and robbery.
Daily News