Pensioner left in need of care in ICU after an eight-hour hijacking ordeal

Pensioner left in need of care in ICU after an eight-hour hijacking ordeal

A 64-YEAR-old Amanzimtoti man was held captive by two hijackers for nearly eight hours on a joy ride that ended on the Bluff on Saturday, 17 May, leaving him hospitalised in ICU.

Philip Roworth was waiting to collect his food at a take-away in Main Road at about 8pm when he was approached by two young men asking for a lift. His decision to be a Good Samaritan left him with four broken ribs, pins in his arm and some loss of sight in one of his eyes.

After agreeing to give them a lift, he left the two men standing near his vehicle while he went to collect his food. Shortly after Roworth and his passengers drove off, he noticed his windscreen wipers were not functioning properly, so he decided to pull into a side road to investigate the problem.

“One of the men told me he was a mechanic and they both got out of the car to help me, or so I believed,” said Roworth. It was then that the men turned on him, beating him, breaking his arm and forcing him into the back of his car.

The driver sped off, while his passenger continued to violently beat the elderly man. Some time later, they stopped at a shopping centre on the Bluff, took his bank card and asked for his PIN number. He lied and gave the wrong number. Angry, the duo drove to Brighton Beach and threatened to drown Roworth unless he provided them with the correct number. “At this point I realised my life was worth much more than a PIN number and I gave it to them,” he said. They went to Crossways and withdrew R2,000 from his bank account and sped off again. The reckless driving eventually caused the car to break down.

“I didn’t know what was coming next, but was surprised when they threw the car keys at me and took off quickly on foot. I believe it was because they saw a police van, because moments later one arrived.” Roworth told the officers which way his hijackers had fled and they pursued them. They returned shortly thereafter, having been unsuccessful in the search. An ambulance was called and he was taken to Kingsway Hospital at around 4am the following morning. He spent three days in ICU.

The two hijackers went on to make a second withdrawal of R2,000 in Kenyon Howden Road, where they were caught on a surveillance camera. They also made two purchases with the card elsewhere, bringing the total amount stolen to about R4,500.

The retired Roworth is recovering from his ordeal…

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