Dunedin taxi attack on Christmas: Terrified driver recounts moment he feared he was going to die

A taxi driver assaulted on Christmas Day by two passengers has recounted the ordeal, saying how he feared for his life. Composite photo / NZME

A taxi driver subjected to a terrifying, prolonged assault by passengers on Christmas Day has recounted the ordeal, including how he feared he was going to die.

The nightmare fare started about 10.30pm on Christmas night when he got a company job to pick up passengers from Port Chalmers in Dunedin.

When the driver, who wishes to stay anonymous, arrived at the pick-up, a male and a female got in, holding bottles of alcohol.

“I told them to finish their drink first and then to travel. I didn’t realise that this one sentence and request would cost me my peace and safety and would leave a long-lasting trauma in my life,” he told the Herald.

Before he knew what was happening, the male had got out of the taxi and opened the driver’s door, smashing a beer bottle on his head.

Shaken and stunned, the driver shut the door, only for the male to start bashing the bottle against the window glass.

He was afraid the glass would shatter, so the driver got out of the taxi, only for the male to start attacking him again, he says.

But by now, the bottle was broken, “making it even more scary”.

The female, meanwhile, had kicked him in the back and thighs, before getting into his vehicle and trying to drive off.

Police said they received a call about 10.50pm on December 25 reporting a male and female assaulting a taxi driver near the port in Port Chalmers.

Senior Sergeant Mark Crawford said members of the public who came to the driver’s aid helped police with information on the movements of the alleged offenders.

Port Chalmers, Dunedin. Photo / Supplied

Information from the public helped lead police to a Port Chalmers address, where the male and female were arrested about 1.40am the next morning.

The pair will appear in the Dunedin Youth Court in due course on charges of assault with intent to injure, police said.

Crawford said the incident “doesn’t represent what our community stands for”.

“We saw members of the public determined to help someone in need, and they have our thanks.”