A South Asian cabbie suffered injuries to his chest, arm and ribs on Wednesday in a carjacking incident in New Westminster.
On May 17 at approximately 1:40 p.m., there were numerous calls to 9-1-1 where witnesses described seeing a taxi driving erratically in the Uptown neighbourhood. They described the taxi striking other vehicles and pedestrians fleeing from the scene.
Officers flooded the area to locate the taxi and then boxed in the vehicle. One suspect was taken into police custody and transported to the local hospital with minor injuries.
“There was a very real concern for the safety of pedestrians and other vulnerable road users,” said Sgt. Andrew Leaver. “This vehicle was driving erratically in one of the busiest areas of our city. This was an extremely high risk situation and we’re thankful no one was seriously injured.”
A Royal City Taxi supervisor, Amrik Mahil, told The VOICE on Thursday that the suspect approached the cabbie and asked him if he was free and the driver replied that he was. The man then walked away, but returned a few minutes later and suddenly started forcing the cabbie out of the vehicle. In the struggle that ensued, the vehicle’s door hit the cabbie’s chest and he fell down, suffering injuries.
The cabbie cried out,” Robbery! Robbery!” and someone called 911 as the suspect sped off in the stolen taxi, said Mahil.
buddy of mine has front row seats to something *exciting* going on in Uptown #newwest right now….. pic.twitter.com/JvIpEOcTcz
— Kevin (@604kev) May 17, 2023
If you have video footage of this incident police ask that you reach out to investigators by calling 604-525-5411. As a result of these events numerous roads in Uptown were closed as police collected evidence. The New Westminster Police Department thanked residents and business owners for their patience.
