By Zelda Venter 
8m ago
Lee Mienie was on the way to a Pretoria East pharmacy when he heard a bang and his car tyre deflated.
It was a late afternoon and he needed his monthly blood pressure medication.
Mienie was driving on the N4 eMalahleni highway. “I heard the sudden bang and my tyre deflated,” he told the Pretoria News.
It was a Tuesday at about 5pm when he left his office to fetch his medication at a pharmacy at the Silver Oaks shopping centre in Solomon Mahlangu Drive.
“I drove along the N4 highway, behind a bakkie. A few hundred meters after the Simon Vermooten off-ramp and as I could just see the Solomon Mahlangu off-ramp in the distance, I suddenly heard a loud noise or bang against my vehicle.
“I did not realise at the time what was happening. I saw something in my side mirror flying through the air.”
Mienie said he then felt his left front tyre going flat. He could not stop immediately as there were too many cars, so he drove on for 200m to 400m and then stopped.
“I still did not realise what had happened, although I saw my tyre was damaged.”
As his spare tyre was still at Tyremart in Silverlakes, he phoned them for help. “They came out immediately, although I now realise how dangerous the situation was.”
While he was waiting for them, still none the wiser, a constable from the Tshwane Metro Police Departments K9 unit drove past and made a U-turn to find out what was happening.
Mienie said the officer took one look at his damaged tyre and rim and told him that he was the victim of a spike attack.
Several SAPS members and a security company arrived and stayed with Mienie until his tyre was fixed.
The SAPS later discovered the spike device which was placed on the road.
“They all told me that my saving grace was that I did not stop immediately. I don’t know whether I was a target or whether they simply targeted any car. But it is a chilling thought as to what could have happened to me.
“I saw nothing in the road when I drove, as I did not think about being spiked. I heard that this type of thing is rife in this area, but it never entered my mind that it would happen to me on a normal afternoon while driving after work to fetch my medication,” Mienie said.
His advice to other motorists is to never stop when they drive over a spike. “Your tyre is not worth your life.”
In response to this incident, the Tshwane Metro Police said officers saw Mienie’s car near the Solomon Mahlangu off-ramp and checked to see what had happened.
Metro Police said it was clear that Mienie had driven over some spikes which were placed on the road. They called for back-up and searched the area for suspects, but found no one.
A device containing spikes was later found along the road.
Metro Police warned motorists to be extremely careful, especially driving at night and in the early hours.
“The criminals often hide the spikes in plastic bags which they place on the road surface.”
It said it would continue to prioritise patrols along these roads.
No arrests have been made yet.
Pretoria News
Credit IOL