WATCH | Mugged Durban woman pursues robber and hits him with car

The driver of a Toyota Tazz is being hailed as a hero by social media users after she pursued a robber who stole her handbag and hit him with her car on a busy street in The Bluff in Durban south.

CCTV footage of the incident shows two men approaching her vehicle at a boom gate next to a petrol station on Wednesday. They open the driver's door and snatch her bag.

Their attempt to steal the car is foiled when another motorist tries to run them over, resulting in the two men fleeing. One jumps into a waiting car while the other cuts across the petrol station forecourt and heads for the road.

The mugged driver however immediately drives after the fleeing suspect.

He runs across a centre island and the car hits him. He flies into the air and lands a few metres away.

The Tazz, which leaves the ground for a second as it hits the island, lands safely on the road. 

The incident occurred in full view of police who were at the petrol station.

KwaZulu-Natal police have not yet responded to a request for comment on the incident.

However social media users say they will “defend the woman at all costs” if she is charged for knocking down the man. 

“Very brave, the hard reality is that she may end up in jail especially with all this footage going around. The law in South Africa protects the criminal more than it does an aggrieved victim and is part of the reason we have spiralling crime. This will be a good test of our system,” said Ebrahim Ali. 

“This video should be shown at all driving schools on how to deal with [robbers],” said Viresh Singh. 

TimesLIVE