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Pretoria - They were intent on beating him to death.
Carel Kruger, 43, was convinced of that as the attackers kept on beating him with bricks, Netwerk24 reported.
Even as the bloodied man ran to two Tshwane metro police officers and grabbed one by the jacket, pleading “Help!” one of the attackers hit him one more time.
"The two metro police members just stood there. They were armed, but did nothing."
Kruger then fled, weaving his way between vehicles in Lavender Road in the north of Pretoria and phoned a friend for help.
Other members of the metro police later came to his assistance and arrested two of the suspected attackers. Kruger said he was going to lay charges against the other two who, according to him, just stood there as he was fighting for his life.
“I am angry, because we have to live like this. That I am just another victim, like thousands of others,” he said.
Kruger had been driving in Lavender Road at about 19:00 on Friday night when a white taxi changed lanes and almost cut him off.
"I hooted and flashed my lights. Then the taxi forced my bakkie off the road. I sped up to get in front of him. When I got back on the road, I changed lanes to get out of his way."
'They were going to kill me'
The next minute, Kruger said, the white taxi sped past and a blue taxi, which had been behind the white taxi at the time, drove up next to Kruger.
"The blue taxi also tried to force me to the shoulder of the road. I tried to get away, but the blue taxi rammed into my bakkie from behind."
The bakkie's electronics, Kruger explained, cut out automatically when there is a specific impact.
"My bakkie stalled, the white taxi stopped across the road in front of me and the blue one right behind me. Three or four men jumped from the taxis.
"The driver of the white taxi tried to pull the bakkie’s keys out through the window. When I resisted, they started hitting me through the window.
"While wrestling with them I realised they were going to kill me in my bakkie and that I had to get away. As I got out, the first blow hit me on the left side of my head.
"It was as if they were taking turns in hitting me with the bricks. I tried fending them off and not falling."
As the blows were raining down on him, he saw two metro cops on a traffic island.
"I ran to them. As I was speaking to them, one of the attackers got another blow in from behind. I fell between the metro cops, I realised I wasn't going to get any help there and fled into the road."
'I tried getting help'
The one attacker followed him and the blows kept on raining down.
"I just wanted to get away. I tried getting help from motorists, but they just locked their doors."
Kruger kept on fleeing, got hold of his phone and contacted a friend. The friend was there in a flash.
Some distance down the road there were other metro police officers. He doesn't know if they had just happened to be there, or if someone had called them.
*Meanwhile, Danny Mahlangu and Modiso Dooka have appeared in court on a charge with assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm.
They were freed on bail of R600 each and will have to appear in court again on August 23.
The Tshwane metro police could not be reached for comment.
