An injured young Jeffreys Bay man was forced to share a hospital ward with his alleged assailant for three hours after being attacked in his car by a knife-wielding hitchhiker to whom he had just offered a lift on the N2.
Despite claiming to have told Livingstone Hospital security staff that he had been allegedly attacked and repeatedly stabbed by the man before they were both transported there in separate ambulances, Keenan Theron said his appeals were ignored.
A 42-year-old suspect was, however, later arrested by police at the hospital after “acting suspiciously ”, and appeared in court this week.
Theron, 24, said it was a miracle he was alive and he was both traumatised and grateful following his harrowing ordeal in his VW Golf on the side of the N2 last Saturday.The nightmare experience he shared on social media went viral on Facebook on Sunday, with more than 1,400 shares in two days.
Theron said he had been en route home from PE when he took the Stanford Road offramp towards Humansdorp at about 5pm.
He noticed the silhouette of a man with a big bag standing in the rain. Having given numerous lifts to hitchhikers over several years, which he described as an enlightening experience which always left him “feeling good”, Theron said he had felt sorry for the man and opted to stop.
However when the hitchhiker peered into his car through the window, he said he had instantly felt uneasy.
“He said he was going to Jeffreys Bay and as much as I was feeling uneasy, I took it as a sign that I was supposed to help because we were going to the same place,” Theron said.
Less than 2km into the trip, Theron’s father Cornelis, 56, called him and he pulled over on the N2 to answer his cellphone. But upon ending the call, Theron said, he saw the stranger motioning towards his chest before he suddenly jumped on top of him.
“I didn’t know he had a knife – I just remember it felt like he had knocked the wind out of me. Then I saw the knife and immediately submitted, telling him to take the car. But he didn’t want that, he wanted to kill me,” Theron said.
“I was still pretty shocked, but once he tried to climb on top of me, stabbing at me all the while, I realised I needed to protect myself and lifted my left arm. That’s when he stabbed me above the ear.“I kept on fighting and screaming for help and remember seeing cars fly by, thinking no one would stop. I didn’t think I would make it out of that car alive.”
Asked what had been running through his mind at the time, Theron – a staunch vegan – said: “I thought this must be what animals feel like when they are slaughtered. And that people are this desensitised to killing when we serve them meat as children.”
Theron said during the scuffle the car had rolled backwards and hit a barrier, knocking his alleged assailant off him.
But fortunately, his car hitting the barrier also prompted Precision tow-truck drivers Rodrick Erasmus and Lukas van Vuuren – who were driving past – to stop and assist.
As the pair approached Theron’s vehicle, he said, he had continued shouting: “Help me, he is trying to kill me!”, and  his screams had distracted the knife-wielding man briefly.
“He looked up and I took the opportunity, grabbed the knife that was pushed up against my neck, and threw it out the window.
“I grabbed the car keys and threw them out as well, then jumped out of the car.”
Speaking to HeraldLIVE about what he saw, Erasmus said both men had jumped out of the car in a panic, with Theron’s shirt dripping with blood.
“[The hitchhiker] looked me straight in the eyes – he looked possessed. I have never seen someone look that evil. The driver [Theron] was panicked, saying the other man was trying to kill him. The hitchhiker was calm.
“I definitely think he [hitchhiker] was on some kind of drug or was high on something.
“We separated the two and called the ambulance and the police. I left and Lukas stayed to make sure they remained safe,” Erasmus said.
Van Vuuren said that within 15 minutes, two ambulances had arrived and transported the pair separately to Livingstone Hospital – where, according to Theron, he had to confront his alleged attacker again.
“We were sitting directly opposite each other in hospital, which really got to me, seeing [that] just a few moments ago this man was trying to kill me.
“After complaining to [hospital] staff and security, they said they can’t deny him [hitchhiker] medical assistance and were given no instructions from police,” Theron said.
“While we waited, he apologised and I forgave him, but explained that I had to lay charges.
“He begged me not to, telling me a lot of sob stories, but I told him my moral code forced me to. Soon after that he changed his shoes and walked straight out the hospital.”
A Livingstone security guard and a nurse confirmed that Theron and his alleged assailant had been in a ward together for at least three hours before security found the suspect on the opposite side of the hospital “acting suspiciously” and the police were alerted.
Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Alwin Labans said a suspect, Morne van Tonder, 42, had subsequently been arrested and transported to the Mount Road police station.He appeared in court on Thursday and the matter was postponed to July 26 for his formal bail application. He remains in custody.
“In light of this incident, police again urge motorists to be cautious and conscious and not put yourself in the position of potential victim . . . our culture is to give hitchhikers lifts, but never do so when alone.”
Labans said he was uncertain as to why police had not followed the ambulance to the hospital, as is usual procedure in such cases.
“Usually police would follow the ambulance and alert the hospital personnel about the incident. However, I am not certain as to the circumstances surrounding this incident.
“But the onus is then on paramedics to explain the situation and ensure proper precautions are taken.”
Department of health spokesman Lwandile Sicwetsha said hospital staff were unaware of the situation as they were not informed by police.
“The hospital does separate people if [staff] have been informed of a conflict between people. However we rely on [police] at our facilities to inform our staff. “In this case the staff weren’t aware.
Had they known, [the men] would have been separated and our security advised of the situation.”ALSO READ