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Woman Jumps from Moving Cab to Escape Furious Hack
By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 2, 2011
Modified Feb 2, 2011
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By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 2, 2011
Modified Feb 2, 2011
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It's been a while since we've had a good cabbie freakout story, so we welcome this lawsuit filed by an area woman who says she jumped out of a speeding taxi to save herself from an unhinged hack who didn't want to take her credit card. Amy Ewertz, a 26-year-old who resides on the Upper East Side, was headed home from a late dinner in Chelsea when she flagged a taxi with her friends. They were dropped off at 48th and Eighth, and then she directed the driver to her abode on East 65th Street. And that's when her hack from hell got hostile.
The unidentified driver for Enaf Taxi had turned off the meter at the first stop without telling Ewertz, then restarted it, thus "improperly increasing the total fare," according to a copy of the lawsuit obtained by the NY Post. When Ewertz arrived at her address, the driver allegedly demanded that she pay the first fare in cash, in addition to the second fare. But Ewertz wanted to pay by credit card, and suggested covering the first fare with a big tip on the second fare. The suit says the driver "cancelled the transaction, and demanded that the first fare be paid in cash."
As they argued, Ewertz says she "managed to distract the driver long enough to swipe her credit card a third time, and she was able to complete the transaction." That was the last straw, and the driver allegedly sped off with Ewertz as his prisoner, screaming, "I don't care if you report me. I don't care if I lose my license. I don't care if I lose my life." But before the guy could pull a Cameron Diaz in Vanilla Sky, Ewertz managed to pry open the lock and jump from the moving taxi. "As she hit the ground, her left foot was caught between the left rear wheel of the cab and the curb, causing her excruciating pain, burning the skin on her ankle, and causing extensive bleeding," the lawsuit alleges.
Ewertz says the driver kept going, leaving her bleeding in the street. But for some reason, she waited three weeks before filing a police report. The Daily News reports, "When detectives tried to interview her, she didn't cooperate, and her lawyers told cops she wasn't interested in pursuing a criminal case. After Ewertz notified the Taxi and Limousine Commission, the agency tried to pursue the case, but she did not return calls."
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crazy cabbie
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John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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