Viral video shows suspected smash-and-grabber clinging to car on Jakes Gerwel Drive
The video, which starts from the Epping area, continues with the car driving towards Langa and Bonteheuwel.
Image: Screenshot
Who knew that a routine drive could turn into a smash-and-grab spectacle? In light of recent incidents, drivers are strongly urged to report these crimes to the authorities.
This follows a viral video that surfaced on social media, showing a motorist driving along Jakes Gerwel Drive with an alleged smash-and-grabber clinging on to their car.
The video, which made the rounds on social media on Tuesday, shows a car with a Free State licence plate driving along Jakes Gerwel Drive, with a man in a blue shirt hanging outside the passenger window.
The video, which starts from the Epping area, continues with the car driving towards Langa and Bonteheuwel. The South African Police Services (SAPS) said that they have no record of the incident.
The incident is among several recent smash-and-grab incidents.
Bonteheuwel ward councillor Angus McKenzie said the interesting thing about that viral incident is that it did not occur near Langa, where a majority of the specific smash-and-grab incidents take place, but rather in Epping.
“It raises some concern that smash-and-grabbers really make a lot use of Jakes Gerwel Drive all the way from the Dunoon, down to Samora Machel.”
McKenzie said that smash-and-grabbers often move away from the areas with visible policing, but that they are aware that smash-and-grabs are concentrated near Samora Machel, Langa, and all the way up to Dunoon.
“It is interesting that this one takes place in Epping,” McKenzie said.
“Smash-and-grabbing is hugely problematic, and probably one of the most opportunistic crimes that exists, because the overwhelming majority of smash-and-grabs are actually never reported.
“And when they are reported to the police, they are only reported to the police for insurance purposes,” McKenzie said.
“The victims of smash-and-grabs really don't want to spend the next three or four years of their life in and out of a courtroom, far away from where they stay, because the numbers will tell us that the people who are victims of smash-and-grab incidents are not people who live in the areas where smash-and-grabs are taking place.”
Suspect seen hanging onto car.
Image: Supplied
Bonteheuwel ward councillor Angus McKenzie.
Image: File picture
McKenzie said that while a person understands the reluctance of people to report the crime, “it does place a huge burden on the ability to enforce the crime”.
“They (enforcement agencies) respond to what are deemed priority crimes quicker, and so if something is not reported, it's not deemed to be a priority.
Police are also still searching for a suspect who was caught on drone footage attacking numerous motorists near Dunoon.
Image: Screenshot
Meanwhile, police are also still searching for a suspect who was caught on drone footage attacking numerous motorists near Dunoon. SAPS spokesperson Wesley Twigg said that two cases were reported at Table View SAPS following incidents on Friday, and Saturday, 13 and 14 March 2026.
The suspect, however, did not succeed when he tried to rob a motorist on Friday.
“On Saturday, 14 March 2026, at about 3.15pm, in Malibongwe Drive, a motorist was robbed of a cellular telephone while standing at a red traffic light. Robbery and attempted robbery cases were registered and will be transferred to Milnerton SAPS for further investigation. No arrests have been made,” Twigg said.
On Wednesday, SAPS spokesperson F.C van Wyk said that detectives are following up on all leads in efforts to make a breakthrough in the case.
GOOD councillor Jonathan Cupido said that CCTV and drone footage are not crime prevention tools, but they are evidence-gathering tools.
“They help us understand patterns, identify suspects, and support prosecutions. But they do not stop a window from being smashed in real time. Prevention comes from visible, consistent, and coordinated enforcement on the ground, and that is where the system is falling short.
“Smash-and-grab incidents are often driven by young people who see no pathway into the formal economy. If we do not intervene meaningfully at that level, we are simply recycling the same problem,” Cupido said.
DA Members of Parliament, Ian Cameron, Nicolas Godsell, and Lisa Schickerling were involved in a smash-and-grab incident in Philippi.
Image: Ayanda Ndamane / Independent Media
The DA's spokesperson on police, Lisa Schickerling, said: “Having experienced such an incident myself, I know how traumatic it is. Reporting remains essential to build cases and improving policing.
* Anyone with any information about these incidents can contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111 or use the mobile application MySAPS anonymously.