ENFIELD: A violent assault on an East Hants cab driver is startling to police and the cab driver who was victimized.

Sgt. Chris Bewsher, with Enfield RCMP, said police received a call from a taxi driver after being assaulted by a fare at about 2:39 a.m., Feb. 28.

On The Go Taxi informed a 911 dispatcher one of their drivers, Debbie Hankey, who also happens to own the business, had just been beaten by a passenger who had tried to take off in the van.

Hankey said she picked the fare, who she didn’t know, up near Leno’s Stop Shop, who said he wanted to go to the Quality Inn, but that wouldn’t be the final destination.

“Halfway up there he changed his mind and instead wanted to go to Milford, so we turned around at the Enfield exit and headed back towards Milford,” Hankey said.

That’s when things went awry. As they drove between Enfield and Elmsdale, the suspect decided to grab the steering wheel of the van.

“We went to the side of the road and I grabbed it back and we went to the other side,” she added. “I got it off to the other side and told him to get out. At that point, he told me I was the one going to be getting out, not him. He went to grab the keys, I got them before he did and threw them down over the ditch. I guess that’s what kind of pissed him off and he gave me a blow to the side of my head. It didn’t knock me out, but made me sick for a few minutes. I brought myself around and he had moved down into the ditch and then the wooded area. That’s when I called my other drivers and they got a hold of the RCMP.”

Sgt. Bewsher said as an officer who was on patrol was passing the taxi parked on the side of the road, the report of the incident was coming in. Police aren’t disclosing if any money was taken, however a Halifax media outlet reports there was money stolen. Hankey wouldn’t confirm if she had been robbed.

“The officer turned around and began an investigation immediately,” Sgt. Bewsher said. “The cabbie was quite shook up. She did suffer a strike to her face.”

Sgt. Bewsher described the suspect as a dark-skinned male between 25 and 30, about six-foot-two with a shaved head. He had on a navy jacket with writing on the left sleeve.

“The suspect apparently tried to take control of the vehicle,” he said. “The driver managed to get it off to the side of the road, which is when she was struck. We’re pursuing all leads in the matter.”

He said the incident is more serious in nature then what RCMP are used to seeing. Bewsher said with it being a female driver the suspect likely figured there would be no retaliation.

“It’s above the threshold of what we’re usually dealing with,” he added. “We usually get a taxi cab call in and say they have an intoxicated patron who refuses to get out of their cab. We attend the scene and the person gets out of the cab and goes on. But to this extent, allegations of taking control of the vehicle and striking the taxi driver, who is a female, not that that means anything, but the fact remains you could see it as being a bit more of a violent action. It’s aggravating circumstances.”

Hankey was shocked to have been a victim of something she never imagined would happen in the rural area she lived and serviced.

“I’ll be the first to admit this is Elmsdale, Enfield and nothing like that would ever happen like that out here,” she said. “My mother has often said do you see the news? And I’ve always said hey, that won’t happen here, I know mostly everybody. I was wrong.”

Since the incident Hankey hasn’t driven alone always doubling up as she comes to terms with what happened to her.

“I’m not feeling all warm and fuzzy about driving,” she added.

Hankey said Nova Communications have been in touch with her and they’re going to supply the company with two-way radios for all the company’s vehicles.

“That way we’ll have emergency contact from here on out,” she added.

Sgt. Bewsher believes taxi companies don’t have to change the way they operate just because of this incident.

“I think it’s an isolated incident, but I think they should always take steps to ensure their safety when transporting passengers, particularly intoxicated people,” he said. “If they have any concerns about potential fares state of mind, it’s a taxi driver’s discretion not to take somebody into their cab. They just have to have their own systems and processes in place to be able to assess that.”

Hankey said while she will return to work, it will be in a different role then what she had prior to the incident.

“I won’t be going out as a cab driver anytime soon,” she said. “My drivers are still comfortable driving. They have it under control. I’m going back to be a house mom and I’ll do the dispatching and the paperwork. I may go out once and a while with the drivers and kind of do the tag team thing, but that’s about as far as I’ll be going for awhile.”

phealey@enfieldweeklypress.com