A well-known Hartbeespoort cyclist was attacked and stabbed on the R560 near Pampoennek on Sunday morning.
Annita Steyn (68) was cycling alone near the crossing of the R560 and the Pampoennek-offramp shortly after 10:00 when she was attacked by a knife-wielding man. She was stabbed multiple times before a motorist stopped and the attacker fled.
Nadya Johnston and her family were on their way to Pecanwood when the attacker ran in front of their vehicle. “We suspect he fled when he saw us coming. Only after he had run in front of us, did we see the woman next to the road. She was bleeding profusely,” Nadya said.
“We rushed to her and helped her off the bicycle. She had stab wounds in the stomach and back. Her lip was split, probably by a blow from the attacker.” They called for an ambulance and tried to stop the bleeding. “Her phone was strapped to her wrist and we managed to get her code to unlock it so we could call her family. It felt like hours before the ambulance came. They stabilised her on the scene before taking her to hospital.”
Steyn was rushed to Brits Mediclinic. Her daughter, Nadia van Wyk, told Kormorant on Monday that her mother was out of danger. “She is in a lot of pain and I am still trying to piece the events together. She is stable at the moment.”
Steyn is the headmaster’s secretary at the Generaal Hendrik Schoeman Primary School in Hartbeespoort.