When a motorist, speeding in the wrong direction down a one-way street, almost collided with a pedestrian, she reacted and threw her water bottle at his car.
In retaliation the driver slammed on the brakes and got out the car.
Expecting either an apology or an argument, the woman, a fitness trainer from Newton Park, in Gqeberha, was ready to give him a piece of her mind.
Being beaten with a sjambok was the last thing she expected but the enraged motorist laid into her, lashing her with the whip before driving off as other motorists tried to intervene.
After reporting the matter to the police, the fitness trainer is trying to trace a passer-by who filmed her ordeal.
This would give her more evidence against her attacker — besides the painful red welts on her legs, back and arm.
“It’s just not safe any more,” the woman said.
“I should be allowed to go for jog without wondering if I am going to make it home safely.
“I should not be expected to lock myself up in my house like I live in a prison.”
The altercation occurred at about at about 8.15am on Thursday, while the woman was walking down Westview Drive with a friend near the entrance to the Port Elizabeth Golf Club, where a short stretch of the road becomes a one-way street.
“Suddenly a car comes racing around the bend and came down the one-way in the wrong direction.
“He was driving so recklessly that he nearly took my arm off as he passed us.
“I turned around and threw my water bottle at the car, hitting the rear end.
“He immediately slammed on his brakes and came to a stop,” she said.
When she saw the car suddenly stop she was preparing herself for a shouting match and a heated argument.
Instead she became the victim of an alleged assault.
“The man got out of the car, but didn’t say a word. He walked to the back of the car, opened his boot, and pulled out a sjambok.
“Then, still without saying a single word, he walked towards me and started swinging the sjambok.”
One blow landed across her upper left arm, another across the back of her legs — leaving red, swollen and almost bleeding welts.
At that point, other motorists and passers-by stopped to intervene, but before they could stop the attacker he got back in his car and drove off.
“After the incident, a lady came to me and said she is a lawyer and she filmed the entire incident on her cellphone.
“I forgot to take her details, and I’m trying to track her down to get a copy of the footage so I can give it to the police.”
The police confirmed that a case of assault was under investigation.
This is not the first time the fitness trainer has been accosted while out exercising.
In 2021, she was riding her bike in Mowbray Street, past Westview Special School, when robbers tried to steal her bike.
“I’m tired of having to feel unsafe. I am an active person and now I can’t even go outside to train.
“I am already looking for immigration options, because I can’t live like this any more,” she said.
HeraldLIVE
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