Traffic officials to bolster security on N2

Lisa Isaacs

WHILE N2 stoning victim Julius Jantjies is now out of a coma, transport and traffic authorities say efforts to protect motorists on the notoriously dangerous highway are being stepped up.

“The occurrence of these incidents has prompted traffic officials to intensify their operations on the N2 between Mew Way and Vanguard Drive, as well as on the R300 between Hindle Way and Stock Road, to counter such dangerous criminal acts,” said Siphesihle Dube, spokesman for Transport and Public Works MEC Donald Grant.

Jantjies, 27, and his colleague, Garth Vermeulen, 22, were driving along the N2 on their way to the city when a rock was flung through their car’s windscreen.

The rock shattered the windscreen and Jantjies, from Macassar, was struck on the head. The attack put him in hospital in a critical condition last week.

Jantjies’s father, also named Julius, said his son’s recovery from the serious head injury may take two to three years. Doctors were still assessing the damage, but he was brought out of an induced coma earlier this week. He is still on a breathing apparatus, he said.

“We just want him to get stronger. He will then have other surgeries, including reconstructive surgery.”

Mayco member for safety and security JP Smith said unless the SA National Roads Agency and the provincial government worked together to repair broken fencing along the side of the road, the problem would persist.

“We are patrolling, carrying out sting operations and using CCTV cameras, but battling with poor lighting and poor fencing. It is too easy for people to gain access to the road and too easy to escape,” he said.

Police spokesman Andre Traut said the attack on Jantjies was still under investigation and stressed that caution should be exercised on highways, especially at night.

lisa.isaacs@inl.co.za