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For some members of the
public, Christmas celebrations seem to start ever earlier and
despite annual seasonal warnings from the police, together with
government advice, those that drink beyond their limitations are
an almost daily hazard for we Dial-a-Cab drivers who have to
deal with them when they drink themselves senseless… Carlo Sorrentino (V46) is no stranger to these pages after last month’s mag when we reported his tale of woe after being run over by his own cab following a rear-end shunt by a hit-and-run motorist. Now Carlo has told Call Sign of an incident involving a woman passenger who was so drunk in the back of his cab that she vomited over the cab interior before falling asleep in it. And that’s when the fireworks had only just begun! Carlo takes up the story: It was about 11pm on Bonfire Night when I picked up a lady in the Strand. She gave her destination as Packington Street in Islington and off we went. When I got to Islington Green, I realised I couldn’t see her in my rear view mirror, sitting upright as you would have expected. When I turned around I saw her sleeping, laying right across the back seat and could see that she had been sick on the seat and floor. I woke her up and pointed out the mess. She said I shouldn’t worry and that she would pay for it. When we got to her destination, there was £19 on the meter and she gave me a £20 note. I explained about the soiling charge and that she would have to pay for me to have the cab cleaned. "So what?" was her simple reply. I told her that in that case I would take her to the police station. Her only reply was a sarcastic "ok, fine!" As we got to Islington High Street, she put her head out of the rear window and began shouting: |
DaC driver accused of ‘kidnapping’ passenger! |
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 Carlo Sorrentino |
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 Broken glass covers the passenger compartment where the drunken female kicked the window out "Help, help, I’ve been kidnapped!" She then fell back onto the floor, so I shut the window and continued going - this time with some urgency - towards Islington police station, which was fairly close. However, she again started screaming about being kidnapped and with that she laid flat on the floor and kicked at the rear window, smashing it out with her shoes. Then, with the prowess of an athlete, she made her escape through the broken window. I quickly stopped the cab, jumped out and grabbed her arm. By now, passers-by were having a go at me, thinking I was |
attacking her! Luckily for me,
a police patrol was passing and with another stroke of luck, a
nearby Big Issue vendor saw everything and corroborated
my version of events. Within minutes, there were 14 police officers, 4 police cars and a police van coming to my aid. It looked like a film set from The Bill! They locked her up for the night and charged her with Criminal Damage. Having made a statement at the police station, I wrote off the nights’ work and went home. The next day was also lost work-wise, getting my cab repaired. Appearing before a Magistrate the following day, the woman was found guilty as charged and ordered to pay me £300 in damages and loss of earnings. As yet I haven’t received any money, but the police say they will pursue the claim and keep me informed. I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank the police officers that came to my rescue and successfully resolved a most unpleasant experience. They dealt very professionally with a tiresome, inebriated female. But what a start to the festive season...!" Carlo Sorrentino (V46) |
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