Taxi Driver fights for life after Dublin city attack [died today]

I Was VB

A CAB driver was clinging to life today after being savagely attacked in central Dublin overnight.

The seriously injured man (41) was in a coma and being treated at Beaumont Hospital for severe head injuries.

The attack apparently occurred in a row over a fare.

Sources said that it was "touch and go" whether the driver will survive following the vicious assault at around 12.30am outside Pearse Street library in Dublin.

It is understood the driver was struck a number of times by his attacker who fled the scene on foot.

The incident was witnessed by a number of people who contacted the emergency services.

Sources say that when an ambulance arrived at the scene, the taxi driver was conscious.

However when he was brought to St James' Hospital, the victim's condition deteriorated and medics are now "extremely concerned" for his welfare.

The victim is believed to be originally from Nigeria.

Gardai will investigate if there was any racist aspect to the assault. However, at this stage it looks like the row was over the fare.

A source explained: "This incident happened on the road outside the library.

"When gardai arrived the victim was out of his taxi - he is in a very bad way now.

"A witness has reported that the assault stems from a row he was having with a passenger over a fare."

No arrests have been made so far but a detailed investigation has been launched.

Gardai from Pearse Street Garda Station are investigating the assault and and anyone with any information is asked to call them at 01 666 9000 or any garda station.

SERIOUS

When contacted by the Herald, Irish Taxi Drivers Federation president John Usher said: "This seems to be a particularly serious incident but unfortunately there seems to be an incident every night and these incidents are on the increase.

"When people who are involved in these types of incident are brought to court, judges need to hand out harsh sentences for those guilty of attacking taxi drivers."

The scene remained sealed off this morning pending a full technical examination.

Sadly attacks on taxi drivers are getting more common, my thoughts are with him and his family at this time.

CardBordWindow

I remember talking to a taxi driver about it before. I asked him if he had anything to help him in case of an attack. He said he couldn't legally have pepper spray or a weapon, but he had a can of fly spray. A blast in the face of an attacker would give him a chance to get out.

Ellis Dee

I hope the poor fellow pulls through and makes a complete recovery. And, of course, that the vicious attacker is apprehended and dealt with appropriately. I believe all taxis should be fitted with small cameras that are linked to a control centre. These are common in many other countries and provide security (both physical and legal) for both driver and passenger. :cool:

Now I think I'll have a look at Politics.ie and see have they, as a mark of respect to this innocent victim of a savage crime and his worried loved ones, toned down the racist rants about foreign taxi drivers that are so de rigeur on that site.:(

foxyboxer

Ellis Dee wrote: »

I hope the poor fellow pulls through and makes a complete recovery. And, of course, that the vicious attacker is apprehended and dealt with appropriately. I believe all taxis should be fitted with small cameras that are linked to a control centre. These are common in many other countries and provide security (both physical and legal) for both driver and passenger. :cool:

Now I think I'll have a look at Politics.ie and see have they, as a mark of respect to this innocent victim of a savage crime and his worried loved ones, toned down the racist rants about foreign taxi drivers that are so de rigeur on that site.:(

Yep, a suspended sentence no doubt. :mad:

texidub

I agree with the camera idea. And I hope he pulls through and makes a full recovery. Ireland has its share of drunken, resentful little men with a propensity for violence and it disgusts me. It has more than its share of racists with Napoleon complexes too.

But how do you know what happened and whether he was the innocent victim of a savage crime or not? Who started it? What was the row about? Who was at fault? Nobody knows what happened and speculation on either side is probably not helpful.

If you do know exactly what happened, then go to the Gardai.

Immaculate Pasta

I'm not a racist but...

jester77

Not sure how it is in Ireland now but over here the taxi meter is clearly displayed along with a list of all costs and how they are broken down. This is usually stuck to the dashboard or back of the head rest and the taxis driver taxi license with id is always clearly on display. Very hard to have an argument then as you know what to expect plus you can easily report them if something is not right as you have their details.

Hope he pulls through, cowardly thing to do. I remember once being in a taxi in Limerick (before deregulation) when someone called over the radio about an issue with a fare. Back then the drivers all knew each other and stuck up for each other. My driver turned off the meter, said he would only charge what was on it but needed to detour to this estate. Once we got there, there were about 10 cars surrounding some lads house. The guy finally paid his fare, his complaint was that it was a larger fare than usual but this was because he had mates home with him so there was the extra passenger surcharge.

The drivers need to make their charges more transparent as this is probably where a lot of these fare arguments arise from.

celticbest

There should be a standard Taxi in Dublin similiar to a London Taxi which has a screen to keep the passangers away from the Driver.

If this was in place last night then this attack could not have happened.

Snakeblood

In New York there's a gps screen on the back of the front seat of the cab, so you can see exactly where you are, where your destination is, and which route you are taking to get there. Plus camera. It's the best system, if only all cab drivers (and no, I'm not generalising, I've met every single cabbie in New York) wasn't clinically insane.

tayto lover

foxyboxer wrote: »

Yep, a suspended sentence no doubt. :mad:

I'm not in favour of HANGING except in certain circumstances.

arybvtcw0eolkf

celticbest wrote: »

There should be a standard Taxi in Dublin similiar to a London Taxi which has a screen to keep the passangers away from the Driver.

If this was in place last night then this attack could not have happened.

There has never been an attack on a London cabbie?.

celticbest

Patrick Stale Crucifix wrote: »

There has never been an attack on a London cabbie?.

I'm sure there has been, but it would be a lot less likely then the easy pickings here where access to the driver is not an issue.

blahblah06

I'm a Dublin taxi driver and I was attacked by 2 lads in coolock in my car with 2 butcher knifes. Not a nice experience.

Since then I've gotten a camera installed. A road hawk with a hidden compartment in the glovebox were the memory card is.

Most cameras have the memory card in the unit so the attacker can just grab the camera from the window along with your takings.

However with the road hawk €449 installed they can still take the cam but not the memory card

Jesus Wept

Hope he pulls through. Get well soon.

Abi

blahblah06 wrote: »

I'm a Dublin taxi driver and I was attacked by 2 lads in coolock in my car with 2 butcher knifes. Not a nice experience.

Since then I've gotten a camera installed. A road hawk with a hidden compartment in the glovebox were the memory card is.

Most cameras have the memory card in the unit so the attacker can just grab the camera from the window along with your takings.

However with the road hawk €449 installed they can still take the cam but not the memory card

That's a lot, but well worth the investment.


I hope they catch the scum that did this.

CardBordWindow

CardBordWindow wrote: »

I remember talking to a taxi driver about it before. I asked him if he had anything to help him in case of an attack. He said he couldn't legally have pepper spray or a weapon, but he had a can of fly spray. A blast in the face of an attacker would give him a chance to get out.

Another great' weapon' is a can of Deep heat. A squirt or two of that is the face works wonders. Blind the Cn*ts.

So sorry for the taxi driver and his family.

This country needs to get real on the Serious crime problem.
Has Alan Sh*tter actually done anything since hes been in office??

I vaguely remember the mutterings of ' The last sting of a dying wasp' out of the mouth of the then Minister, when Veronica Guerin was assasinated.

tayto lover

Jake1 wrote: »

Another great' weapon' is a can of Deep heat. A squirt or two of that is the face works wonders. Blind the Cn*ts.

So sorry for the taxi driver and his family.

This country needs to get real on the Serious crime problem.
Has Alan Sh*tter actually done anything since hes been in office??

I vaguely remember the mutterings of ' The last sting of a dying wasp' out of the mouth of the then Minister, when Veronica Guerin was assasinated.

The news earlier said that someone had been arrested by Gardai in the city centre this morning. Hope it's the right person and that he gets the sentence he deserves.

Max Power1

tayto lover wrote: »

The news earlier said that someone had been arrested by Gardai in the city centre this morning. Hope it's the right person and that he gets the sentence he deserves.

Minimum sentence 4.5 euro months and additional per mile bruise rate?

Homer

Shameless self plug but if any taxi/psv drivers are interested in getting more info on the roadhawk unit I have the Irish distribution of the roadhawk brand of in car cameras and would be happy to chat via PM rather than take the thread off topic. Hope the driver makes a full recovery.

blahblah06

Abi wrote: »

That's a lot, but well worth the investment.


I hope they catch the scum that did this.

Guards couldn't be arsed. Did a photo fit n never heard a thing

tayto lover

blahblah06 wrote: »

Guards couldn't be arsed. Did a photo fit n never heard a thing

Ahem, I think he has been arrested. They were "arsed" it seems.

ItsAWindUp

F ucking insane. Just for the price of a taxi journey like!

Latchy

celticbest wrote: »

There should be a standard Taxi in Dublin similiar to a London Taxi which has a screen to keep the passangers away from the Driver.

If this was in place last night then this attack could not have happened.

Some people prefer private cabs because they can work out cheaper than the Standard black taxi

blahblah06 wrote: »

I'm a Dublin taxi driver and I was attacked by 2 lads in coolock in my car with 2 butcher knifes. Not a nice experience.

Since then I've gotten a camera installed. A road hawk with a hidden compartment in the glovebox were the memory card is.

Most cameras have the memory card in the unit so the attacker can just grab the camera from the window along with your takings.

However with the road hawk €449 installed they can still take the cam but not the memory card

Expensive but good investment .Hope the cabbie makes a full recovery and the guards have the right guy .

John Doe1

Just lucky he wasnt in Nass, no ambulances would have bothered.....

celticbest

Any word on how the chap is today?

Ellis Dee

John Doe1 wrote: »

Just lucky he wasnt in Nass, no ambulances would have bothered.....

Oh, I'm sure they would have. I still want to cling to the belief that Darren Scully is not representative of those who have chosen to serve the public, and the vast majority of whom do so with dedication and without racist bias every day. :rolleyes::rolleyes:

Well done to the Gardai for tracking that perpetrator down. Now let's see what the DPP and judiciary do.:)

Cionád

He died this afternoon

Shocking stuff,

RIP

http://www.thejournal.ie/man-assaulted-in-dublin-on-monday-dies-287271-Nov2011/

Fear Uladh

Dublin is such a ****hole.

Sacred_git

wow hope he pulls through.

on another note: i was threathened by a taxi driver a few weeks ago because apparently he was waiting in the queue for a good 1/2 hour and when i was only going 5 im drive up the road(half pissed) he called me a dopey c**t and said id lovve to fcuking burst you holding a clenched fist(not near my face), i stood up to him and told him to pull over, got out, he called me a dopey c**t again, i shouted back takes one to know one you c**t and slammed his door shut, i think he noticed i am a fairly big dude(i gym a lot) and drove off! Not a pleasant experience, i dont like taxi drivers but still voilence is not the way!!

Mr. CooL ICE

Chillaxe wrote: »

Dublin is such a ****hole.

Sit down. You must be tired from brushing too much tar.

mattjack

Chillaxe wrote: »

Dublin is such a ****hole.

give it a rest .....will ya ?

Fear Uladh

LordChessington wrote: »

Sit down. You must be tired from brushing too much tar.

The Tar of truth.

trixie_belle12

Cionád wrote: »

He died this afternoon

Shocking stuff,

RIP

http://www.thejournal.ie/man-assaulted-in-dublin-on-monday-dies-287271-Nov2011/

That's terrible RIP

steph1

Dreadful news. My sincere sympathies to his wife and family.

Sacred_git

Rip

clickhere

Thats terrible, may he rest in peace. Just trying to do a job.

Super-Rush

Chillaxe wrote: »

Dublin is such a ****hole.

It could happen anywhere so don't start this sh1te.

Cionád

Cionád wrote: »

He died this afternoon

Shocking stuff,

RIP

http://www.thejournal.ie/man-assaulted-in-dublin-on-monday-dies-287271-Nov2011/

ah no:( Thats so bloody terrible. So sad to hear that.

R.I.P

Jake1

Jake1 wrote: »

ah no:( Thats so bloody terrible. So sad to hear that.

R.I.P

My partner drives a taxi, times like this I wish he never had to go out to work.
Poor man, just trying to earn a living to support his family.

daveyboy_1ie

Shocking stuff, may he rest in peace.

Hope the f*cker is caught and done for it.

daveyboy_1ie

daveyboy_1ie wrote: »

Shocking stuff, may he rest in peace.

Hope the f*cker is caught and done for it.

They have one person at least for it daveboy as far as I know the DPP is preparing a file.

To be honest thats one funeral Id like to attend just to show some solidarity.
I wouldnt dream of intruding on the family though. Just sometimes Id like to stand up and say enough is enough.:(

ItsAWindUp

I hope the c unt that did this has the book thrown at him.

df1985

crazy, and right in the city centre too.would love to know how it went fro arguing over a fare to that!

Sunnyisland

http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/1123/dublin.html



A 41-year-old taxi driver who was injured in an incident on Dublin's Pearse Street early on Monday morning has died today.
The man was pronounced dead at St James's Hospital this afternoon.
A man in his 20s, who was arrested in connection with the incident, has been released without charge.
The taxi driver was attacked by a man near the junction of Erne Street.
The man then left the scene and walked in the direction of Erne Street.


May he rest in peace.


No need for this at all.

Hangballlouie

I think it's important that we all wait until some facts about this case come out before we presume anything. Lots of different news floating about with this story.

Anyway no matter what the situation was that led to his death, I hate hearing anything tragic like this, particulary coming up to christmas. Thoughts and prayers to his family!

celticbest

R.I.P

crosstownk

Terrible news.

My old man drove a taxi in Dublin for many years and had more than his fair share of assaults. I've seen my Dad very shaken by such attacks but thankfully he emerged physically unscathed.

My deepest sympathies to the taxi driver's family. Nobody should have their life at risk over the price of a fare. What an unnecessary waste of life.

vampire of kilmainham

Chillaxe wrote: »

Dublin is such a ****hole.

same thing goes on in every city

Dyr

blahblah06 wrote: »

Since then I've gotten a camera installed. A road hawk with a hidden compartment in the glovebox were the memory card is.

Not bleedin hidden anymore is it?

vampire of kilmainham

terrible thing to happen may he REST IN PEACE

vampire of kilmainham

dont forget as well that there is a lot of raceism in the taxi buisness among irish and foreign drivers and it's bigger then people think