"You Can Lose Your Life": E-Hailing Driver Recounts Horror After R70 Dispute Turns Violent
- An e-hailing driver in Strubenvale, Ekurhuleni, was shot in the wrist during an altercation that began over a R70 cleaning fee
- The driver said he arrived to help a friend translate a disagreement with a passenger who had vomited in the vehicle
- The driver says the case he opened with police was later dismissed due to a lack of evidence
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Source: Twitter
GAUTENG - An e-hailing driver is recovering in hospital after a dispute over a R70 cleaning fee turned violent in Strubenvale, Ekurhuleni, on Saturday evening. He was shot in the wrist. His friend, who was also an e-hailing driver, was also shot.
Vehicle Trackers shared a video of the incident on its X account, which included an account from the driver describing what unfolded.
How a cleaning fee sparked the confrontation
According to Ndaba News, the driver said he was in the middle of dropping off his own passenger near Donaldson Avenue when he received a call from a fellow e-hailing driver asking for help. When he arrived at the scene, his friend explained that a passenger had vomited inside the vehicle and was refusing to pay the standard R70 cleaning fee. Because his friend was not comfortable communicating in English, he asked the driver to step in as a translator.
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The driver said he calmly approached the passenger to work out a solution. The passenger initially said the money was not available but offered to pay on Monday. The driver explained that the vehicle had to be cleaned before his friend could keep working.
At that point, the passenger spoke to a neighbour in Afrikaans. The neighbour went inside, came back with R70 and handed it over. It seemed the matter had been resolved.
Shots fired as tensions boiled over
As the passenger prepared to leave, the situation took a violent turn. The driver alleges the passenger told him to "f*** off" before slapping him, then grabbed him by the hair, dragged him into the grass and continued the assault.
A confrontation then broke out between his group and three men who were at the scene. Shots were fired during the altercation.
The driver is currently recovering in hospital. He said he opened a case with police, but claimed it was later dismissed due to a lack of evidence.
He reflected on what the experience had cost him emotionally.
"I don't wish anyone to go through the same trauma, especially when you are not at fault. It's not easy being an e-hailing driver," he said.
The circumstances surrounding the shooting and assault remain under investigation.
Durban e-hailing driver attacked
Previously, Briefly News shared that another e-hailing driver, Farad Razak was attacked with a bush knife by a man known to him while he was dropping off a passenger on Litford Road.The attacker struck Razak three times, leaving him with serious wounds to his hand, stomach, and leg. Razak managed to drive himself to a clinic in Phoenix after the attack, unable to feel his right leg.
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Source: Briefly News
