Taximan wounded in struggle with robber
The crime was a familiar one, but the reaction of the victim was not. Around 6:30 this morning taxi driver George Haylock was on duty at the stand near the Belcan Bridge when a young man hired him for a short trip. A half hour later the fifty-seven year old Haylock was lying in K.H.M.H. with a bullet in his backside. His actions in between could be described as either extremely foolish or extraordinarily brave. Whatever the adjective, after three attempted taxi robberies in one day alone last week, today’s victim was not about to go down without a fight.
George Haylock, Taxi Driver
“When he got in the car, I asked him where are you going. He said Faber’s Road and I told him “Boy I don’t usually go to those places because I don’t like to go to those places.” The man said it wasn’t far, because when I hauled the curve he would show me where to stop. So I hauled the curve, I passed over the first bump and he said to stop right at this yellow house. He then grabbed his gun and pushed it to the side of the door. He said “Don’t stop. Continue driving fool because da dead yu wah dead”. I told him “Well it’s me and you that are going to die right now.” I stopped the car, I never realised that I didn’t have the car in park. I just stopped the car and jumped over the back seat with him we wrestled with the gun. I managed to make him not shoot me in the face or anything vital. As I swung over the seat again, he shot me right here (buttock).”
Jose Sanchez
“And all this time the car was moving?”
George Haylock
“The car moved and dropped in a drain, then stopped. It was still running in gear and after he finished shooting me, I finally realise I got shot and got out. A boy outside there and I told him to hail the police for me and said he would. I said I would not wait for the police to come because I could drive myself to the hospital. So I drove here and parked my car.”
Haylock is in a stable condition and while no suspect has yet been arrested, the jacker managed to leave his cell phone in the taxi. Police are now looking it over.
In related news, two of the suspects in the abduction of Nigerian taximan Paul Fakayode on Thursday have been arrested and charged with kidnapping and robbery. They are eighteen year old Jermaine Belgrave and an unnamed fourteen year old student. A third suspect was picked up over the weekend but inadvertently released. He is expected to be questioned again later in the week.
