A heroic young man steered his fellow passengers to safety when the driver of a bus he was travelling in jumped out during a robbery.
Ashley Europa was on his way home last Tuesday evening when three armed men demanded commuters’ cellphones.
The bus, which was travelling from Cape Town to Mitchells Plain, came to a halt on Govan Mbeki Road in Crossroads around 7.50pm.
While the robbers were holding up the passengers, the driver got out of the bus and ran off.
"One of the robbers walked up to me and asked for my cellphone while holding a gun, and I asked if that was a real gun,“ says Ashley, 24.
“He took out the magazine and showed me the bullets so I gave it to him.
“After the robbery, we noticed the driver had run off in the opposite direction.
“I asked other passengers who will drive us since the driver wasn’t there, and at first, I said I can’t drive and they all said they can’t.
“So I thought if no one wants to drive, then I’m going to because it was getting late and I wanted to get home.
“Also, I didn’t want something else to happen to us.
“They asked me if I can drive, I lied to them and said that I have been driving since the age of 13 just to make them feel comfortable.”
Ashley, who works as a cleaner at the V&A Waterfront, says he dropped off almost all of the passengers at their stops.
“When I was on Spine Road, there was a Golden Arrow Bus inspector and he stopped me and then took the bus.
“If he hadn’t come, I would have driven the bus home with me until they located me.”
The Eastridge man says he met up with the driver who had fled.
“I asked him why he left us stranded like that and he simply told me that he was scared.
“And that he had noticed that the men looked suspicious when they boarded the bus.”
He admits that he has never driven a vehicle unsupervised.
“I always had my father to guide me, but then that day it was just me and my passengers.
“And I was not scared, I was thinking of the elderly people who had to be home.”
Golden Arrow.... STEP UP! Ashley Europa has proved himself MORE THAN Worthy. #AnAbsoluteHero The Newspapers did not cover his story, let US make him famous!!! Team #SaUnite
Posted by Ashley Rix on Thursday, December 17, 2020
Golden Arrow Bus Services spokeswoman Bronwyne Dyke-Beyer confirmed the incident, but advises passengers not to take the wheel.
“This is an unprecedented situation and a number of factors have to be taken into consideration,” she says.
“Passengers should not under any circumstances, no matter how well-intentioned, attempt to drive a bus.”