A taxi driver in Brooklyn was caught on film tearing an elderly woman out of his car in what she claims was a robbery.
Catherine Shine, 78, told police she was robbed by the driver after being left at the wrong stop by the city's Access-A-Ride service for individuals with disabilities. When the woman realised the driver was taking her past the agreed-upon drop off point, she asked him to stop and let her out, but the driver allegedly refused.
Bystander Ezra Halawani, 35, filmed footage the driver dragging Ms Shine from the car, leaving her crumpled in the middle of the street. She smacks the middle-aged driver with her cane as she lies on the ground and yells for Mr Halawani to call the police because "he robbed my phone."
Mr Halawani takes the woman's phone back from the driver, who then jumps back in his car, clearly ready to flee the scene.
"Can you not do that? Can you not stop and run away?" Mr Halawani asks the driver before standing near the front of the car. "You're gonna have to run over -"
Before he can finish the sentence the driver speeds away, nearly knocking him off his feet.
Mr Halawani then returns to the woman and asks her if she's ok.
"No I'm not! I'm a 78-year-old lady, and he pulled me out of the cab, he took my money, he took my phone!" Ms Shine said. Mr Halawani returns the phone to her and continues helping her after the incident.
Police said both Ms Shine and Mr Halawani were hospitalised and are in stable condition.
Ms Shine's daughter, Tara, told NBC 4 New York that her mother was recovering from minor back injuries, and said Mr Halwani was a "saint" for stepping in at her mother's moment of need.
She said she hopes the person that attacked her mother is brought to justice.
"My mother is a trooper, thank God for my mother, she does it all. She’s an amazing woman," Tara Shine said.
Mr Halawani, who also spoke to the broadcaster, agreed with Tara's assessment of Ms Shine.
"Amazing woman. She really was very brave and strong to go through something so traumatic," he said.
Mr Halwani ended up with an injured shoulder after trying to stop the driver from fleeing the area.
"I was just trying to stop him from leaving. Obviously in hindsight it wasn’t a good idea, getting next to a car that’s moving," he said. "I had a swollen shoulder, have a hard time lifting now...I feel like anybody would’ve done the same thing — minus the jumping in front of the car, probably not the brightest idea."
Law enforcement is seeking the cab driver. The car's plates suggest it was registered with the Taxi and Limousine Commission. That agency is working with the NYPD to find the driver.
The state's Federation of Taxi Drivers, a union representing taxi drivers, said it would support the driver's immediate suspension and the removal of his license.
The New York Metropolitan Transit Authority provides Access-A-Ride, the service the driver was working for at the time of the incident, and said it had identified and removed him from its roster.
"The driver has been identified and was immediately removed from service by our broker CTG and all other service providers. We are in contact with the customer’s family and, when possible, will work with them to gain information that will help with the ongoing investigation," MTA Spokesperson Mike Cortez told NBC4. "The MTA works with several for-hire vehicle companies as part of our broker program to provide our Access-A-Ride customers with safe, reliable service. Our customers deserve to be treated with respect and dignity, and we will take all action necessary to ensure the transportation partners we entrust our customers with adhere to this."
