Uber driver terrorised by attempted carjacking in Box Hill North

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Ajmal Armani, 34, of Dandenong was driving along Middlesbrough Rd just after 10.30pm on Thursday, October 27, when his car was blockaded by a gang armed with machetes and claw hammers.

Mr Armani received an Uber alert on his phone that a nearby passenger wanted to be picked up, so he pulled into Dixon Grove to check where the booking was.

As he was pulled over Mr Armani noticed a silver Hyundai drive up behind him, pass him, then quickly do a U-turn parking the car bonnet-to-bonnet with his.

“They had their high beams on like they were trying to blind me,” Mr Armani said.

“Two men got out — one had a large machete and the other had what looked like a big hammer.”

Mr Armani said the men were wearing balaclavas and couldn’t make out their appearance, but said the man with the machete began yelling at him to get out of the car and began tapping on his window with the “60cm long” weapon.

“The one with the hammer was also doing a smashing motion like he was going to break the windscreen,” he said.

Mr Armani put the car in reverse, backed up onto the nature strip, and quickly did a U-turn to get away.

The attempted carjackers gave chase, following Mr Armani on Middlesbrough Rd before he saw them turn into Ashley St in his rear-view mirror.

Mr Armani then reported the ordeal to police at Box Hill police station, who confirmed they were investigating.

“Honestly I’ve never felt so scared in all of my life,” Mr Armani said.

“I have lived in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran and this was unlike anything else I’ve experienced.

“I have three children and I’m just so thankful they weren’t in the car with me.

“I’m now really worried because those men are still out there — what would have happened if the person in the car was an old person or even a young girl?

“It’s really rattled me,’ he said.

Box Hill state Liberal MP Robert Clark called for stronger sentences for violent offenders.

“It’s now clear horrific car-jackings are not just happening somewhere else, they’re happening right in our suburbs,” Mr Clark said.

“Where have we got to when people can’t even drive along streets in Box Hill North without risking being rammed, attacked and robbed?

“This is what you might expect in a lawless third-world country, not in Melbourne,” he said.