A Cape Town trail runner sustained multiple knife wounds last Wednesday while fending off two attackers on Signal Hill.
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According to News24, Barry Smit (39), from Gardens, sustained a knee injury while successfully fighting off the attackers.
Smit ventured out after 5pm.
‘I was running along the footpath when suddenly these two guys with big knives jumped out of the bushes.’
Smit adds that the attackers made no demands or threats but looked like they were up to no good.
Smit said that a scuffle broke out as he tried to get one of the attackers off him.
One of the attackers grabbed him and a fight ensued.
‘We tumbled and wrestled for about 20m down a slope of dead branches, and we eventually came to a stop. It was at this point I was able to pin him down with my right hand around his throat and put him into submission,’ Smit adds.
According to Smit, the attacker’s partner remained on the path above without intervening and then fled the scene.
Smit bravely disarmed his attacker and hurled away the knife, yet not before sustaining three stab wounds to his left knee, causing severe bleeding.
‘I wasn’t in any pain at the time because my main aim was just to get him away from me.’
After heavily injuring the attacker, Smit chose to let him go free.
‘He begged me not to hurt him or break parts of his body when I had him held against a massive tree,’ Smit added.
After releasing the attacker, Smit realised his leg was badly injured and managed to get himself to the nearest Mediclinic facility for treatment.
Smit recalled that before the attack, he ran past a ‘dodgy looking man’ who might have been targeting cyclists or hikers.
‘This has never happened to me before,’ Smit said.
‘I am just very lucky to be alive.’
Smit opened a criminal case as soon as he was given the all-clear by doctors.
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Picture: Jean van der Meulen / Pexels