A taxi driver who was viciously attacked while worked a late evening shift has spoken of the terror he felt during and in the aftermath of the incident.
With 25 years of experience, working within the taxi industry, 'Eddie', which is not his real name, speaks with pride about his career. But after he was choked to unconsciousness and robbed in East Belfast last weekend, he is now struggling to sleep, and having flashbacks of the ordeal.
Speaking to Belfast Live, Eddie, who is part of the FonaCAB team, described how a normal shift turned into a nightmare.
READ MORE: Belfast taxi driver injured during 'terrifying' assault
"I have been driving for FonaCAB coming up four years now," he said.
"But I first started as a taxi driver in the 90s, so I would be a 25 year veteran. I love the job, that's why I have been doing it for so long. But after the attack, things have changed for me.
"We are out there, we know how difficult it is to get a taxi - we are doing our very best to provide a service. That is what I was doing on the night of the incident. I answered the call and went to collect the guy.
"He was standing outside the address, which would be fairly normal. He got in the car and I confirmed the address for it. He said he wanted to stop round the corner, and he got out and knocked on the door of a house. He then tried to kick it in.
"At that point I thought, I need to be away from this but the door was open and as I tried to move away, he got back in. I said to him 'this journey is over' and I pulled the car to a stop.
"He lunged from the back seat, grabbed the dash-cam and pulled it from the windscreen. He then put me in a choke hold and choked my until unconsciousness. He was choking me from behind my seat. The head rest stopped me from going anywhere.
"He kept telling me he wanted me dead. That I was going to die. I blacked out and when I came back round, he was still choking me. I don't know where the fight came from, but I managed to get out of his grip and get out of the car. While I was out, trying to get my breath back, he very boldly got in through the driver's door and took my wallet, my float and every loose piece of paper he could get his hands on."
Eddie had picked up the man in the Heatherbell Street area shortly after 2.50am. The vehicle came to a stop in the Clara Street area, and that is when Eddie was attacked and robbed. The passenger made off in the direction of the Castlereagh Road.
He told Belfast Live that he was able to alert people in nearby properties that he was in danger by repeatedly hitting his car horn. He also hit the FonaCAB panic button, which saw the team in contact with Eddie eight seconds after the button was pressed, and with the police 10 seconds after the incident was reported.
"Police brought me home because they wanted my clothes for forensics," Eddie added.
"I haven't been back to work and it has been tough. This is always in the back of my mind now. I can't sleep. We didn't leave our house for days.
"FonaCAB has been absolutely brilliant. Right away, I had dispatchers on to me asking what help I needed, what they could do for me. The next day, the driver manager phoned me and asked me how I was. He was great. He said anything that FonaCAB could do, it would be done.
"They offered me financial and legal help. They offered me counselling support too and other medical support. Since then, I have been in contact with someone from FonaCAB every single day. One particular driver has been brilliant and has checked in on my constantly.
"As a driver, if you got in my car and were in bother, I would help. Genuinely. If you didn't have the fare and you needed to get home, I would take you home and worry about the money after, or not worry about it at all, as long as you got home safely.
"That is what this job is about. I am a human being, and I try to be good to the people around me because I would like to think that if it was my child getting in a taxi, the driver would be good to them."
In a statement issued following the attack, a spokesperson for FonaCAB said: "We are aware of the reported incident involving one of our drivers. We have been in regular contact with him and have provided assistance in whatever areas he requires. We will continue to provide support in whatever form necessary for as long as it is needed.
"We hold the safety of all of our drivers and passengers in the highest regard and do everything we can to both mitigate risk, but to also deal with any incidents should they occur. While drivers who work the more anti-social hours may be more likely to encounter behaviour such as drunkenness and minor anti-social behaviour, thankfully serious incidents such as this are very rare."
FonaCAB says regardless of infrequency, it has systems and policies in place to assist drivers should they occur.
"Each fonaCAB driver is equipped with a “Data Head” which incorporates an easily operated panic alert facility should the driver need it while working," the firm added.
"This along with advanced GPS and in car communications allows us to quickly identify if a driver needs help, where the incident has taken place, and if required implement an escalation process which includes police involvement. In the reported incident, we were in contact with the driver eight seconds after the panic button was pressed, and with the police ten seconds after the incident was reported.
"Many of our drivers’ vehicles are equipped with CCTV which offers additional comfort to both drivers and passengers while providing evidence if required. Our driver support teams operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year so there is no time when a working driver is left without comprehensive back up.
"Many bookings are now made using our app or on account and this dramatically reduces the amount of cash a driver carries as these booking methods have increased APP credit card, account, and contactless payments. Every booked journey is tracked using GPS so we can see live data as to where our drivers are at all times when they are logged on.
"Our systems also record routes taken, and durations of journeys which allows us to monitor the working fleet, but also to investigate should an incident occur.
"We record every external and internal telephone call and app booking, and this information is stored under strict GDPR guidelines but available for review if necessary and provided to police if requested.
"FonaCAB supports its drivers with a backup team of administrators, technical and operational support, supervisors, and customer service. In addition, we have an experienced Driver Support team which can help with professional counselling and guidance should a driver need it.
"We also offer support to drivers should an incident require police involvement or if they need legal assistance.
"Drivers are doing a job just like anyone else and are entitled to do so in a safe working environment without the threat of any physical or verbal threat. As such, we wholeheartedly condemn any incident and will continue to support our drivers should they unfortunately occur."
In relation to this incident, PSNI Detective Sergeant McCartan told Belfast Live: "Our investigation is active and ongoing. We reiterate our appeal to anyone who witnessed this vicious assault, or who may have information regarding the person responsible, to get in touch on 101, quoting reference 284 of 12/02/23."
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