A Kraaifontein woman has taken it upon herself to seek justice after she was allegedly moered by a taxi driver.
Michelle Adonis Goldstone, 35, was left bruised and shaken after the incident on 31 October 2024, while travelling from Kuils River to Kraaifontein, a route she took every day.
She said as they approached her destination in Kraaifontein, the driver, whom she had previously driven with, abruptly decided to turn around with her and three other passengers.
She explains: “I asked him repeatedly where he was going and he ignored me. He then drove on and stopped the taxi in a quiet area, got out and opened the door and attacked me.”
Michelle says the attack happened near Bottelary Road, and the three passengers fled.
She tells the Daily Voice: “When he started hitting me, they jumped out of the taxi, everything happened so fast.
“I jumped over to his seat, and then he came around again and locked the door.
“I then took all the money and threw it out, and when he picked it up, he pulled me out of the taxi and threw my bag out.”
Michelle says the three passengers got back into the van and the driver sped off, leaving her stranded.
She was left pimpel en pers with swelling around her left eye, nose and arms.
The shocked woman adds: “He could’ve raped me or driven away with me and dropped my body somewhere. I was really frightened.”
Michelle has laid a charge but police are still looking for the suspect.
She has since been asking around at the taxi rank and had also been issued a pointing-out note by SAPS in case she sees the driver again.
Police did not reply to enquiries before deadline.
Makhosandile Tumana, the public relations officer for the SA National Taxi Council (Santaco), slammed the driver's conduct.
He says: “We were not informed, but we don’t support this kind of incident in our vans, the commuters are our customers. It is unfortunate.”
Tumana encouraged commuters to come forward and piemp errant drivers.
He adds: “Maybe we can come up with a solution, or we can also assist to find the perpetrator. We are extremely sorry to this person [Michelle] and we wish all the best to those with the investigation.”
Michelle won’t travel again by taxi until the driver is arrested, saying: “I didn’t see him again because I'm still scared [to take a taxi]. I will travel again when they get him.”
byron.lukas@inl.co.za