A taxi driver from the seaside resort of Rhyl has spoken of his terror after a drunk and abusive passenger grabbed the wheel of his cab causing it to crash.
Dad of four, Andy Johnson, collected his passenger from Rhyl train station at around 3pm on Thursday 15th of September.
Belligerent Behaviour
Andy recalled how the behaviour of the passenger was far from pleasant but it was nothing he hadn’t experienced before.
However, his behaviour drastically spiralled out of control when he was told that he wasn’t allowed to smoke within the vehicle.
He said: “A man got into the passenger seat of my car at Rhyl train station last Thursday afternoon.
“He was drunk, loud and belligerent, but as a taxi driver, I’m quite used to that.
“He asked me to take him to the bank in Prestatyn. As we set off he asked if he could have a cigarette.
“It was only 3.20pm in the afternoon…People could’ve been killed.”
“I told him no but he tried lighting it anyway.”
When Andy insisted that he put the cigarette out, the passenger grabbed the steering wheel and mounted it onto the kerb at Rhyl Golf Course on Coast Road.
He continued: “When I told him that smoking wasn’t permitted in my car, he grabbed the steering wheel and my cab jumped the kerb before flying into a lamp post.
“He then got out of the car hurling abuse before doing a runner.”
Thankfully, the taxi avoided hitting any pedestrians. Andy added: “It was only 3.20pm in the afternoon. There could easily have been children and families walking down the road at that time, not to mention the workers who are building new flood defences at the golf course. People could’ve been killed.”
Lucky Escape
Unbelievably, Andy escaped the crash with only a few bumps, bruises and scrapes but it could have been a whole other story had he not turned his airbags off.
Andy commented: “I had my airbags turned off and the doctors and recovery crews said that it probably saved my life.
“They said I would’ve sustained much more serious injuries had the airbag blown up in my face at the time of impact.”
Police are appealing for witnesses to call 101 quoting reference number U140611.