Two local cyclists were brutally attacked by a group of individuals and left with multiple injuries on Sunday morning.
One of the two victims, Brendon Jacobs, shared the details of the harrowing incident in a social media post, explaining that he and his friend, Jandre Du Raan, were cycling from the Jonkershoek Nature Reserve near Stellenbosch.
“On 13 Jandre and I took an easy recovery coffee spin to Jonkershoek Nature Reserve. Cycling back from the gate Jandre hit a pothole with one of his wheels and continued cycling and I then moved alongside him to check if all is well.”
Jacobs says that soon after stopping to check on Du Raan, the pair heard a loud hoot and turned to see a blue Toyota vehicle driving towards them with the apparent intention of knocking them off their bicycles.
“We then yelled at the driver and I threw my hands in the air. He stopped and moved and stopped and moved again then he made a U-turn and went for Jandre with his car,” says Jacobs.
Both cyclists were unsure if this was an attempted robbery or murder, and Jacobs began recording footage on his cellphone of the car to have as evidence. A white car can be seen in the video playing witness to the incident.
“I then took my phone and pushed ‘record’ and you can notice in the video that the driver did another U-turn and then came for me. I was lucky to move my body and bike out of his way and he then went for Jandre and diverted when he spotted the white car in the video (good samaritans – they witnessed the entire incident).”
Failing to hit the cyclists, the driver behind the wheel of the attacking car, left the vehicle and approached the two with a stick-shaped weapon in hand, and was promptly joined by five more assailants.
“After he could not get us by car he then approached us with a stick-type object and then another car stopped out of nowhere and 3 males and 2 females assisted the man in the blue car and beat Jandre with rocks etc,” says Jacobs.
Jacobs was hit with a heavy blow to the back by the object while Du Raan was hit on the head with a large rock.
Images captured by Jacobs show the extent to which he and his friend were beaten.
A couple who witnessed the attack at the time rushed to help the two and escorted them to the nearest hospital.
“Both Jandre and I visited the hospital, other than severe head injuries, as the suspect used a rock to hit Jandre, and some deep tissue scars on my back, we are thankfully OK but severely traumatised. We thank God for His intervention and saving our lifes and know that this could have been worse…,” Jacobs says.
A case has been opened against the assailants and charges have been laid.
“This could have been murder if you look at the vid. We laid charges and escalated the matter to Alan Winde’s office and Pedal Power Association.”
Picture: Brendon Jacobs/ Facebook