Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Blue Taxi Company operator Dave speaks out about a random attack which saw windows smashed and a knife thrown into his vehicle

Transcript

Blue Taxi Company operator Dave speaks out about a random attack which saw windows smashed and a knife thrown into his vehicle · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: We are going to speak to the taxi operator who
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: was randomly attacked in Malden at midday or Monday by
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: somebody wanting to Hijacki's vehicle. Now, it was a normal
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: day on the job for Dive, who just completed a
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: job in Malden when a man came in front of
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: the bus armed with a weapon.
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: Dave joins me on the line. Now, good morning.
• 0:20
  Speaker 3: Dive, Good morning Katy. Thanks for giving me this chance
• 0:25
  Speaker 3: to beek on behalf of me.
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I really appreciate you having a chat with me
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: this morning. Now, what happened when this guy approached your minibus?
• 0:36
  Speaker 3: Oh, that was a normal day for me, a pretty
• 0:38
  Speaker 3: full year, like lunchtime and I was just heading towards
• 0:42
  Speaker 3: Malden and suddenly one guy approached me in front of
• 0:45
  Speaker 3: many bugs, and his action was pretty weird. I thought
• 0:50
  Speaker 3: maybe he just wanted to do something with me, because
• 0:52
  Speaker 3: I have seen something in his left right hand story.
• 0:56
  Speaker 3: And suddenly, when I just loaded all my vehicle, he
• 1:00
  Speaker 3: stopped for a while for less than second, and I
• 1:03
  Speaker 3: thought I should not stop here right now because it
• 1:06
  Speaker 3: will be dangerous for me. And suddenly then I just
• 1:09
  Speaker 3: crossed him and he throw knife towards my vehicle like
• 1:13
  Speaker 3: moving vehicles. After that, I realized something like big noise
• 1:19
  Speaker 3: came from out inside of the vehicle, and I realized
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: he threw the knife towards my glass, the window glass.
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: My goodness dive which so did he throw it through
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: the front windscreen or what area of the of the
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: mini bus?
• 1:37
  Speaker 3: He was just try to He was just try to,
• 1:40
  Speaker 3: you know, like try to stop my vehicle with the
• 1:45
  Speaker 3: front glass. And but for some reason he stopped for
• 1:49
  Speaker 3: a while, some some while for his stop. I don't
• 1:53
  Speaker 3: know he changed his mind because he was to stop me.
• 1:56
  Speaker 3: But you know, with my just you know, concern, I
• 1:59
  Speaker 3: don't stopped my week. So what he did. He just
• 2:02
  Speaker 3: came on the left hand side of my vehicle on
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: the nature strip. Then he throw knife towards me.
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: I cannot imagine what must have been going through your
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: mind at that point. What were you thinking? As all
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: of this was unfolding see.
• 2:18
  Speaker 3: Other trauma sides for less than seconds and nothing in
• 2:21
  Speaker 3: was my mind. I thought it was my last thing,
• 2:24
  Speaker 3: you know, When I see knife in his hand, I
• 2:26
  Speaker 3: thought maybe if I stopped, I will be maybe permanent
• 2:30
  Speaker 3: injury or anything could happened to me. But the lucky
• 2:34
  Speaker 3: thing was that I was not hurt. Only he don't
• 2:37
  Speaker 3: damaged to the minibus and that's only he managed to do.
• 2:41
  Speaker 3: But I was thought, maybe if I stopped my vehicle
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: in front of him, I don't know what will be
• 2:46
  Speaker 3: the consequences to me.
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: That is an incredibly frightening situation to be in.
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: Do've just tell us? So this happened like in the
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: middle of the day, didn't.
• 2:55
  Speaker 3: It at twelve thirty pm lunchtime?
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: Is there was the incident captured on like video footage
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: or anything security footage?
• 3:05
  Speaker 3: Okay, I got a dash camp, so everything is recorded
• 3:08
  Speaker 3: in dash cam.
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: Wow, have you gone back and had a look at it?
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: And how did you feel when you when you did?
• 3:16
  Speaker 3: Still, if I see this video image, I can't express
• 3:21
  Speaker 3: my fear, you know, in the world. Only I can feel,
• 3:23
  Speaker 3: you know. And it was like nightmare for me watching
• 3:27
  Speaker 3: this video again and again.
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: Divor you just thinking to yourself, You're lucky to be alive.
• 3:35
  Speaker 3: I'm thanks to God, Thanks to God. And it was like,
• 3:37
  Speaker 3: luckily for me, I'll just survive. I'm talking with you
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: in front of you and I'm just you know, thanks
• 3:43
  Speaker 3: to God. That was not day for me all the time.
• 3:46
  Speaker 3: The way he throw, the way he's throw nice towards
• 3:49
  Speaker 3: moving vehicle. It's like maybe one of the dangerous situations
• 3:53
  Speaker 3: because I was driving like a roughly big bus and
• 3:56
  Speaker 3: it was just you know, uh bus and on the time.
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: If imagine I lose the control, it could be anything,
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  Speaker 3: it could be disaster. You know, I was lucky, I
• 4:07
  Speaker 3: use my mind.
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: You certainly did. Did you have any passengers on board? No?
• 4:13
  Speaker 3: I was empathy at the time. That was very very
• 4:16
  Speaker 3: you know, thankful to God, no one was in the
• 4:18
  Speaker 3: vehicle all the time.
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: Yeah, Dive, is this the first time that you've experienced
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: an attack like this or something as dangerous as this?
• 4:27
  Speaker 3: See the normal the rock throwing rocks and the bottle
• 4:30
  Speaker 3: is pretty normal in Palmerston, But the throwing the knife
• 4:34
  Speaker 3: that the first time happened ever ever I have seen
• 4:36
  Speaker 3: in my life.
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: So, Dive, are you telling me that that it regularly.
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: Happens that you've got rocks and bottles thrown.
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: At your vehicle?
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: Oh?
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  Speaker 3: I yea regularly, but sometimes the bottle rock hit the
• 4:50
  Speaker 3: metal of the vehicle. But if we got unlucky, this
• 4:54
  Speaker 3: glass and metal can hit the glass, I ask you will,
• 4:58
  Speaker 3: So you will be surprised know that that's a third
• 5:01
  Speaker 3: glass in two months, third glass in two months.
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: Third glass in two months. How much is this costing you?
• 5:08
  Speaker 3: Roughly three hundred dollars.
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: Are you at the point where you're feeling quite scared
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: to go to work?
• 5:16
  Speaker 3: Well every time, you know, like we're scared to go work.
• 5:20
  Speaker 3: But I don't have any en a choice left. I
• 5:22
  Speaker 3: have to pay my bills, my rants, my crosses, everything.
• 5:25
  Speaker 3: That's the way you know, I do my job. You know,
• 5:27
  Speaker 3: that's the only source of my income.
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: I'll tell you what I think.
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: It's you know, it's a terrible situation that you guys
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: that our drivers are in.
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: What do you think needs to happen?
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: What do you think what protections need to be in
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: place to help drivers?
• 5:46
  Speaker 3: I think we have to be more vigilant. We have
• 5:49
  Speaker 3: to be more you know, like we can do whatever
• 5:52
  Speaker 3: we you know, like as much we can, but we
• 5:53
  Speaker 3: have to be more vigilant. We have to be in
• 5:56
  Speaker 3: touch with the local police. We have to give as
• 5:59
  Speaker 3: much more information which can give to the police and
• 6:02
  Speaker 3: they can, you know, catch offenders. That's only we can
• 6:05
  Speaker 3: do according to me. Yeah, and the you know, the
• 6:09
  Speaker 3: if the government the local government, he makes some laws
• 6:11
  Speaker 3: for protection to the drivers operator. You know, like you know,
• 6:15
  Speaker 3: there's a thousand of people that go on the road.
• 6:17
  Speaker 3: Maybe it could be the normal car, it could be
• 6:19
  Speaker 3: the normal person. You know, it could be anyone in
• 6:22
  Speaker 3: the future.
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: Are you feeling at this point, Dive, lot the government
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: is listening and the people in those positions of power
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: are listening to the fear that you guys have to
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: get to work.
• 6:37
  Speaker 3: We have like a complaint, like you know, every time
• 6:40
  Speaker 3: when this incident happened, we complain to the police, We
• 6:42
  Speaker 3: complain to the you know, our department. But it's kind
• 6:45
  Speaker 3: of me, you know, like matter time of investigation, how
• 6:48
  Speaker 3: it's gonna do that, you know. But the three right thing,
• 6:51
  Speaker 3: the main thing is our safety, our security. There's the
• 6:54
  Speaker 3: main problem for issue. You know, Like I know, my
• 6:57
  Speaker 3: few friends even they got injured, uh in the in
• 7:01
  Speaker 3: the tax season, the minibuses. But I'm just totally like
• 7:04
  Speaker 3: I don't feel it was I was just you know,
• 7:06
  Speaker 3: safe on that day. That's I can I totally like earlier,
• 7:10
  Speaker 3: I can't you know, tell my fear in the words,
• 7:12
  Speaker 3: I can.
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: Only feel this and I I understand as well, all
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: Dive that you still went back to work just a
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: couple of hours later, a couple of hours after that
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: incident had happened.
• 7:24
  Speaker 3: That's right, So right, I just after two hours, I
• 7:27
  Speaker 3: was again on the road.
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: Might I really feel for you, because that's.
• 7:32
  Speaker 3: Not the first time this thing happened with me or
• 7:35
  Speaker 3: with my other you know colleague. It happened like I
• 7:38
  Speaker 3: can't explain you, but it happened like frequently, you know.
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  Speaker 3: So a two hours, two hours, I was again on
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  Speaker 3: the road, dive.
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: Do you think that those security screens or safety screens,
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: I should say, do you think that that'd be effective
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: or would help.
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: In any way?
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  Speaker 3: I don't think so. If someone made his mind he
• 7:58
  Speaker 3: had to do something wrong, he will do because it's
• 8:02
  Speaker 3: a moving vehicle. And if someone throws a knife or
• 8:05
  Speaker 3: whatever object towards moving vehicle, we can't do anything from inside,
• 8:09
  Speaker 3: you know, like because if someone made his mind, because
• 8:12
  Speaker 3: if the footage have seen the dash camp, he already
• 8:15
  Speaker 3: made his mind. I want to do something like wrong
• 8:18
  Speaker 3: with him. So that's a you know, the thing is
• 8:21
  Speaker 3: that but putting the safety features, I think it will
• 8:24
  Speaker 3: be fifty or sixty percent. We can get a little
• 8:27
  Speaker 3: bit more confident or we can drive on the roads.
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: I've just Lastly, do you have any idea whether that
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: person who who targeted you and threw that knife that
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: you put you in that utterly dangerous situation has he
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: been arrested.
• 8:43
  Speaker 3: I have submit this footage to the Anti police on
• 8:48
  Speaker 3: Monday on the same day, and I have not had
• 8:50
  Speaker 3: anything from the police yet. So it might be a
• 8:53
  Speaker 3: matter of investigation because clearly you can see his face everything,
• 8:59
  Speaker 3: so I think the serious metros investigation. But I haven't
• 9:02
  Speaker 3: had anything from the police yet.
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: So have I contacted you at all following what had
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: gone on?
• 9:10
  Speaker 3: Not yet?
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: All right? Please?
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: Yeah, please keep us up to date as to whether
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: you do hear from them and where things are at.
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: I mean, this is a terrifying situation that you've had
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: to endure. Mike. We're all thinking of you and and
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: all really, you know, pretty disgusted that's something like this
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: could happen to you. I'm really sorry that you've been
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: in that situation.
• 9:36
  Speaker 3: Yeah, but my concern is that on that day, Okay,
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  Speaker 3: I was the unluckiest person on the time, but imagine
• 9:41
  Speaker 3: if someone else was another vehicle, you know, sometime, you know,
• 9:45
  Speaker 3: because if you see the video you will go and
• 9:48
  Speaker 3: understand what station I was on the time.
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: Mike, I really appreciate it.
• 9:53
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it was unable to stop, unable to make U turns.
• 9:56
  Speaker 3: It was the middle of the road and I was
• 9:58
  Speaker 3: just you know, unable to do nothing that well.
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: It's a very very scary situation. Dave, thank you so
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: very much for having a chat with us this morning.
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: I really appreciate your time.
• 10:11
  Speaker 3: Thank you very much. Cherdy appreciate for you.
• 10:13
  Speaker 2: Thank you, thank you.