By Tanya Steele
Last week a young woman in her 20s had a terrifying experience on her regular commute home coming up the ‘Devil’s elbow’ of the Mount Dandenong Tourist Road.
On a Monday 29 July hills resident Amy allegedly had an unusual and highly stressful evening when a car stopped across the road and two man emerged allegedly acting suspiciously, one holding a baseball bat.
Amy said she had finished work later than usual at around 7pm and was driving past the Upper Ferntree Gully train station.
She stopped at the lights along Burwood Highway near the Royal Hotel and as the lights turned green, she said a ute quite abruptly pulled out in front of her, then as she continued along and indicated left along the Mount Dandenong Tourist Road, the car did as well.
“At first I didn’t think much of it,” Amy said.
“As I was going up the mountain, just pass the 1000 steps, all of a sudden the car in front put their foot on the pedal, and probably were going about 90 or 100 kilometres an hour and just zoomed all the way up the hill.”
As Amy continued on she said she was about to go around the corner but she saw a brake light facing her, thinking there might have been an accident.
“I came around the corner and slowed right down,” she said.
The car which looked to Amy like a ute had pulled across the road and at this point Amy reportedly said she saw two male figures.
“They were out of their car and one had a hoodie on and some sort of, I don’t know a face mask or a black shirt or something that’s coming up to his eyes and a baseball bat, the other guy had a ski mask and a blue checkered flannel he was reaching in his pocket for something,” she said.
“They were coming towards me and had moved away from their car.”
Amy said she “just reacted” as she reportedly approached the male figures in her car “I put my head down and put my foot on the pedal and I went off into the gutter,” she said.
“I went around (the corner) and almost span out just to avoid them.”
As she drove away Amy said she was looking in her rear view mirror to see if the people were going to follow her, “I just saw them point at each other and really speedily trying to get back in their car.”
Amy said as she continued to drive through Tremont she tried to call Triple Zero three times but as she got through she was disconnected and the calls dropped, she then continued to her residential home in Olinda.
“I was fine, but as I was realising what had happened, I was freaked out,” Amy said.
Amy’s mother Sue said when her daughter arrived home she wasn’t looking great.
“She was looking quite zoned out, really – and I knew something was wrong…she said she couldn’t believe what just happened,” she said.
Sue took to Facebook that evening at around 8pm, posting about the alleged incident.
The post received a flood of messages of shock, support and speculation about the situation – many commending Amy for her quick reaction.
“I am shaken by this,” Sue said.
“It could happen to anyone and what is the right thing to do in this situation,” she said.
“She went on the wrong side of the road and her front right hand wheel was in the ditch – she managed to turn it and get past them.”
Amy said the following day she reported the incident to the Knox Police Station.
A Victoria Police spokesperson said that police received reports of men suspiciously loitering in the Ferntree Gully area on 29 July.
“The incident was reported the next day,” they said.
“Police have been told there was no interaction between the men and the person who reported the incident.
“At this stage, it is believed no offence was committed. If further information comes to light, police will investigate further.”
Amy said that it shouldn’t have to result in something for something to be done.
“There was definitely malice intent behind whatever it was that they were doing,” she said.
“Whether it was a car hijacking, or whether they want to beat somebody up, or whether they want to take valuable things, whatever it was, you don’t get out of the car with a baseball bat and start walking towards somebody else.”
