Johannesburg, South Africa – December 11, 2025 – A couple and their infant child became unexpected heroes during a violent roadside incident in Linksfield on December 9, 2025, according to an eyewitness account.
The event unfolded late in the afternoon as the family was driving home. Due to backed-up traffic on Sylvia’s Pass in the Kensington/Observatory area, they opted for an alternate route that led them to Aster Road in Linksfield.
The husband noticed a struggle on the side of the road and immediately suspected a robbery. He accelerated toward the scene and identified a male attacker punching and wrestling a female victim. The husband opened his window and shouted for the attacker to stop, but the effort was unsuccessful.
Unarmed and with their 16-month-old baby in the vehicle, the husband decided to use their silver Mercedes ML500 as a means to intervene. He maneuvered the car between the attacker and the victim to push the assailant away and allow her to escape.
The attacker then drew a knife and began stabbing the victim. Demonstrating precise driving skills under pressure, the husband separated the two and reversed the vehicle into the attacker, enabling the victim to flee to safety.
During the intervention, the wife called the Flying Squad Anti-Drug Team (FADT) to meet them at the location where the attacker was.
Context on Similar Attacks in South Africa
According to the Governance, Public Safety, and Justice Survey 2024/25 by Statistics South Africa, 470,000 individuals aged 16 and older experienced street robbery between April 2024 and March 2025, with 529,000 incidents recorded. In Gauteng province, 171,000 individuals were victims of street robbery. Weapons were used in 80.1% of street robbery incidents, with knives involved in 52.1% of those cases. Only 36.4% of street robbery incidents were reported to police.
South African Police Service statistics for the third quarter of 2024/25 (October to December 2024) recorded 35,030 cases of robbery with aggravating circumstances nationally and 12,422 in Gauteng. Common robbery cases totaled 12,447 nationally and 3,708 in Gauteng during the same period.
