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Road-rage: Brothers battered
21/02/2006 22:57 - (SA)
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| Pietermaritzburg businessman Ali Malani, 56, shows his road-rage wounds, that included a broken collarbone and dislocated sternum.(Nash Narrandes, The Witness) |
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Craig Bishop
Pietermaritzburg - Two brothers are recovering after a road-rage incident in Durban left them bruised and battered, one with a broken collarbone.
When mild-mannered, 55kg, bantamweight car dealer Ali Malani, 56, set out for Durban with his wife and his brother Hashim, 50, to fetch a vehicle, the last thing he expected was to fall victim to road rage and end up in a hospital ICU.
The family were approaching a traffic light at the Moore and Sidney roads intersection last Wednesday when they realised that a bakkie in front of them had broken down.
Because of heavy traffic, they could not change lanes for several traffic-light changes.
Ali said: "The driver was inside, talking angrily on his cellphone. As we approached, he got out, still talking on the cell.
"Hashim asked him to put his hazard lights on and he replied that his car battery was flat, so Hashim replied 'Sorry, boss'."
Was screaming at them
Ali said the man, whom he described as tall and aout 30 year old, must have misheard his brother's comment because he suddenly charged their car.
"He was screaming 'What you said? What you said?' at us. I told Hashim to close the window, but he couldn't get the window up in time."
Ali said the man grabbed his brother by the throat and pulled him out of the vehicle, running him headfirst into the side of his own bakkie.
"By that time, I'd got out of the car. He then turned on me. The look on his face! He grabbed me by the hand and spun me, throwing me headfirst down a one-metre concrete embankment.
"Apparently, he came after me, but I had passed out," said Ali.
Hashim warned the man that he had a gun and that he would use it.
The driver phoned the police, claiming the Malani brothers had tried to shoot him with an unlicensed firearm.
When two Durban police officers arrived, it is alleged the bakkie driver demanded to deal with white police, saying to the brothers that they intended to bribe the cops.
Ali was admitted to Durban City Hospital and then to the ICU at Daymed Hospital in Pietermaritzburg where he was found to have a broken collarbone, dislocated sternum, sprained wrist and numerous bruises. His brother had head injuries.
His first brush with road rage
Ali said: "It was a nightmare. I weigh 55kg. I'm not gonna fight anyone. I could be thrown like a chicken."
Ali said this was the first time in 40 years of driving that he had been a victim of road rage.
The police crime intelligence unit's captain Rumen Maistry confirmed that Hashim's firearm was licensed and that the police had taken down the bakkie registration number.
Maistry described the incident as a clear case of road rage.
"It was a hot day. The guy had broken down. It is a common occurence," he said.
- The Witness
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