Hero cop hailed for helping hijack victim

Were you driving on the N12 highway near the Daveyton highway on Tuesday evening?

You could have been one of many motorists who drove past a blood-soaked hijack victim who tried to flag down motorists for help - but for a while‚ no one stopped.

Help only came much later from an off-duty police officer‚ captain Sam Maqabe‚ who has since been hailed as a hero by the victim's wife.

“The victim was brutally attacked and stabbed in the chest with a knife and in his arms with a screwdriver. He fought off the attackers and managed to get out of their grip. He ran across the highway for help‚" the victim's wife said in a 'thank you' note published on the SA Police Service's Facebook page.

“He stood bleeding without shoes or a shirt in the middle of the road in oncoming traffic‚ for a long time - nobody stopped. People were even swearing at him. But one person stopped - an off-duty policeman who had his family in the vehicle with him‚” said the woman. She and her husband were not named.

“Today‚ my husband is alive - not because the stab wound was not severe‚ or his other injuries were not serious‚ but because captain Maqabe reacted swiftly and saved his life - literally! My two boys still have their father‚ I still have a husband and his parents still have their child - all because of one person’s selflessness and bravery‚” she said.

The woman said Maqabe's duty to serve the country did not end when he took off his uniform. “I was in awe of this captain‚ not being on duty‚ but still serving his country‚ his fellow South Africans‚ with so much pride! He was not even supposed to work‚ but he delivered a service and for that I will be eternally thankful!” she said.

The victim's stolen vehicle was recovered in Delmas and one of four suspects has since been arrested.