Vancouver Police are still investigating after a carjacking and collision involving a Vancouver taxi Tuesday night.
Police say at 7:15 p.m. a Black Top Cab was stopped at West Hastings and Carrall streets when a man jumped into the taxi and forced the driver to get out. The driver was hit multiple times during the carjacking but was not seriously hurt.
The driver then sped away southbound on Carrall Street.
Just minutes later, police received a call of a taxi being driven at a high rate of speed, believed to be about 105 km/hr, in the area of Prior Street and the East Georgia Viaduct. Then they received a call of a taxi being involved in a collision at the intersection of Clark Drive and Venables Street.
When police arrived at the scene, they found the taxi and the other car in flames and a bystander restraining the suspect on the ground. Officers determined he had also attempted to carjack another vehicle after the collision that was stopped for a red light, westbound on Venables Street at Clark Drive.
During the second attempted carjacking, police say the suspect jumped into the backseat then moved into the front and tried to force the driver to speed away.
The driver of that vehicle, a 40-year-old woman from North Vancouver, was not injured, but was extremely shaken up in the ordeal.
A 34-year-old man from Burnaby is now facing potential charges for robbery and remains in police custody.
Fincham said police are looking at the possibility the man was high on drugs or drunk at the time.
“What would cause someone to jump into an occupied taxi and force that driver out is certainly unusual,” he said. “As well, the conversation the suspect had with the woman who was driving the second car, that was the attempted carjacking, the conversations between those two are again, something that we’re looking at to determine exactly what would motivate somebody to do something like this.”
The intersection was shut down for a time but has since been reopened to traffic.
Fincham said it was lucky everyone walked away with minor injuries and nothing more serious.
A veteran taxi driver told Global News it’s scary but not surprising to hear this because the job can be dangerous at times.
“I think any day taxi drivers are out there, possibly dealing with people that could put their safety at risk and that’s something we’re very mindful of, ” said Fincham. “We work very closely with cab companies in Vancouver, taxi companies in Vancouver are part of ‘Taxi Watch’ where we have a relationship where they are also looking out for other people’s safety or alerting us to something that’s happening in the community that would require police attention.”
“So we’re mindful of the situation they put themselves in dealing with certain individuals at all times of the day and all times of the night.”
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