MOSSEL BAY NEWS - A cyclist, riding on Louis Fourie Road in Dias, just before the Boland Park turnoff, was ambushed and almost forced off her bicycle on Sunday, 10 March, at about 06:30.
The week preceding that, Mossel Bay Advertiser published two articles about the public's concern about crime on this section of Louis Fourie Road.
Nicky Jacobs (41) was riding in the direction of Hartenbos. Suddenly she heard a loud noise.
"I looked right. A guy was already on top of me. The noise was the sound of his shoes on the tarmac. He tried to push me off of my bike. I held my balance and hit him with my right hand, a few takes."
Jacobs exclaimed: "I was riding at 25.7km/h when this happened."
The assailant had come from her right, running out of the Milkwood trees on the side of the road, she said. He was not carrying a knife or weapon.
A man, seemingly his accomplice, remained in the bushes, she noted. Jacobs says: "I hit either his head or shoulder. It was something hard. I felt his hand in my pocket. He tried to pull me back.
"I wangled out of his grip and hit him again. I kept screaming and got away."
Jacobs said she saw two cyclists riding towards her and gesticulated wildly to warn them. When the assailant saw her do this, he and the man who had been with him ran away.
Boland Park
The cyclists who were coming towards Jacobs, turned into Boland Park.
She did not come to a standstill during the ambush. "He ran with me. I kept hitting and hitting and screaming." He was dressed in black and aged about 25 to 27 years - a tall, thin man.
"The fact that I fought back, put him off. "The Lord's angels were around me, as I did not fall off my bike." Jacobs said she was in shock, called a friend who lived in Hartenbos, stopped there and called her mother to fetch her.
"God's grace was with me, that I did not lose control of my bike. He tried to put his hand in my shirt, but my phone was at my left side. I also hit him while he was behind me and pedalled harder so I could get away. He was trying to pull me back so I would fall."
No cars
Jacobs said there were no cars around at the time, "just a woman walking in front of me about 40 metres away".
She contacted the Joint Operations Centre (JOC) which monitors crime, after the incident, but it could not pick up anything on its CCTV footage.
Jacobs said she was too shocked after the incident to go to a police station to report it and she was busy at work in the week and it was difficult to take the time to go to a police station.
The Advertiser enquired to the police whether they would go to someone to take a statement, should the person not be able to go to a police station.
Investigated
Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Kappie Kapp said all incidents of crime reported to the police would be investigated.
In cases that the complainant is unable to go to the police, the complainant should explain to the police why they could not report to a police station and may request the police to come to them if they wanted a case to be investigated.
Kapp encouraged the community to report criminal activity to the police. He said the information could help prevent future criminal activity.
He provided the numbers of the Mossel Bay police stations: KwaNonqaba: 044 606 5606; Mossel Bay (George Street): 044 606 2800; and Da Gamaskop: 044 606 2200.
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