Man Loses Leg After Mysterious Run In With Cabbie
Posted November 14, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Police are still trying to discern whether an incident that cost a man his leg on Friday was a hit and run, a robbery attempt, or a case of road rage.
What they do know is a cyclist was taken to hospital after his leg was nearly severed in a collision with a cab near the intersection of Dovercourt Rd. and Dundas St. It happened at about 2:30am and unfortunately, medical experts couldn’t save the man’s limb.
“We got a call at 2:27 this morning from witnesses that reported hearing two males arguing, quite a heated argument from our understanding,” revealed Sgt. Tim Burrows of Toronto Police Traffic Services. “The next sounds that were brought to their attention was the sound of a collision that occurred.”
“There’s a lot of questions about what took place, about whether or not it was a robbery or argument,” Burrows admits. “Or simply road rage.”
The injured 36-year-old was apparently pinned to a pole by the vehicle, causing irreparable damage to his leg.
“The hospital was unable to save the damaged leg and unfortunately an amputation had to occur,” confirmed Burrows.
Witnesses were shaken by the ordeal.
“This area was a chalk outline and a really huge pool of blood,” notes area resident Hillary Kaell.
“He was sitting up until the police got there saying “Help me, help me.” I just heard this agonizing yelling,” added another witness.
The cabbie ended up calling police – but inexplicably waited more than three hours to do so.
He told police he hit the man with his cab because he was defending himself during a robbery attempt.
Officers picked the taxi driver up and brought him into the station for questioning, as the cab (below), with a sizeable dent in the back end, sat in the man’s driveway.
The cabbie apparently had wounds consistent with a beating but cops aren’t completely convinced those injuries were the result of an attempted robbery. Among their questions, why it took three hours from the time of the incident to the time the driver called them.
The taxi was equipped with video. Police are reviewing the tape and they’re still looking for any witnesses.
Anyone with information in the case can contact police at 416-222-TIPS (8477).
