mrselfdestrukt's Journal: News Flash: Rock hurled through woman's windscreen

The victim of a unprovoked attack lay in hospital struggling to breathe, and all she and her daughter had wanted was to enjoy a night out together.

Joe Samuel, of Carletonville, was painfully gasping for breath on Monday, racked with pain from injuries sustained on Sunday when an unknown man smashed her car's windscreen with a rock while she and her daughter were travelling on the N12.

Samuel and Charmaine Kruger, her daughter, had decided to go out for supper on Sunday evening.

When they reached Westonaria at about 10.30pm, a man hurled a rock at the car, shattering the windscreen and striking Samuel on the chest, causing serious injuries.

'It's heartbreaking to see my mom suffering like this'
Kruger made a U-turn and drove to the Westonaria police station, where she reported the matter.

A visibly shaken Kruger said: "I saw a man wearing a white T-shirt and white shorts. Seconds later, a rock hit my mom.

"She started screaming, and the windscreen was broken. My mother was moaning terribly. She screamed: 'I can't breathe, I can't breathe'."

Samuel was taken to Sir Albert Private Hospital in Randfontein, where she was said to be in a critical but stable condition in the intensive care unit.

When The Star visited the hospital on Monday, Samuel was grimacing in pain, barely able to talk.

"It's bad... the pain is too much," was all she could say. Still on oxygen, the 58-year-old kept pointing at her injured chest.

Kruger said the incident had traumatised the family.

"The family are taking it quite hard. It's difficult because we don't know why we were attacked - it just happened out of the blue," she said, adding that the family had been due to go on a holiday at the weekend.

"We had planned a trip to Durban to be with my brother, who is coming home from America. Our joy has turned into sadness," Kruger said.

"This is terrible. It is heartbreaking to see mom suffering like this.

"I am not sure how long it's going to take her to get better. The attack was unnecessary, and I am still confused," Kruger added.

West Rand police Superintendent Milica Bezuidenhout confirmed the incident and said Westonaria police were investigating.

The attacker was still at large.