A CCTV video has emerged online showing the moment a motorist in Durban, South Africa gave chase and knocked down a thug who had snatched her bag at a barrier.
The footage shared by CrimeInSA, a handle on social media platform X that compiles crime trends and issues tips on how to stay vigilant in South Africa, said the incident happened in Bluff Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.
The timestamp on the CCTV footage shows that the incident happened on Wednesday, September 27, 2023, at 10.42am adjacent to a petrol station.
In the video, the motorist who CrimeInSA claimed was a lady, had stopped at a barrier as she waited to pay after the vehicle in front had been cleared.
The footage then shows two men approach her car from the left side before they both converge on the driver's side.
One of the thugs opened the door, grabbed what looked like a bag and took off running.
The second suspect went back around the car and unsuccessfully attempted to open the front passenger door.
At this point, a motorist behind the victim's car drove over on the left seemingly to ward off the suspect as he struggled with the door.
Seemingly sensing danger, the second suspect also took off and got into a getaway car that pulled over a few meters away in the nick of time.
Just before the getaway car drove off, the victim, seemingly pumped up by adrenaline, went after the suspect who had snatched her bag, nearly causing a collision with the getaway car.
The second frame of the CCTV captures a police car pullover in the vicinity of the crime scene moments before the suspect fleeing with the loot appears.
In a matter of seconds, the victim's car is seen flying over the median, the strip in the middle of the road separating lanes, and knocks down the thug.
The getaway car then follows almost immediately and drives past the suspect who remains motionless in the middle of the road as the one-minute footage fades off.
Two petrol station attendants are seen clapping, in an apparent commendation of the motorist for her 'heroic' act.
It remains unknown whether or not the suspect died or survived the impact.
South Africa is known for high crime rates even as the latest statistics indicate a positive outlook for many of the country's more problematic crime categories.
The latest crime stats released on August 8 by police minister Bheki Cele for the first quarter covering the period between April and June 2023, indicate that violent crimes like murder went down.
Sexual offences also dropped over the same period by two per cent while carjacking eased by 6.4 per cent year-on-year.
However, Cele said other violent crimes such as attempted murder and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm jumped by 4.8 per cent during which period police arrested over 70,000 suspects.