Taxi terror caught on camera
7News Melbourne with crime reporter Cameron Baud October 21, 2013, 4:27 pm
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A taxi driver has been filmed ramming his car into a group of men during a violent confrontation in Melbourne's south-east.
Witness Toby Mason, who filmed the incident, said a taxi driver was forced to make a quick escape after he was threatened by a group in South Yarra early on Sunday morning.
Toby's amateur vision shows an angry mob swarm the taxi as it manoeuvered to get away.
"As soon as I heard someone threatening lives, saying 'I'm going to kill you, I'm going to kill you', I immediately grabbed my camera and went out the back," he said. "That's where I shot the video."
The violent clash was over in a matter of seconds, but Toby said he remains shocked by the incident.
In the short clip, the taxi driver can be seen knocking a man off his feet.
A second man responds by throwing beer at the taxi before launching himself onto the windscreen and hanging onto the roof as the taxi takes off.
One member of the group attempts to chase the taxi on foot on Toorak Road towards Punt Road.
Two other taxi drivers who witness the confrontation then follow their colleague.
"A few of them were walking around with their hands on their head like they were shocked about what had just happened," Toby said.
Remarkably, none of the men who launched themselves at the taxi appear to have been seriously injured. They stayed in the area for about 15 minutes before leaving on foot.
It is believed the group of at least five men and a woman had tried to hail the taxi.
Authorities are still trying to identify the driver but his actions have been slammed.
Professor Alan Fells, chairman of the Victorian Taxi Industry inquiry, said: "If he was well-trained, and they're not, he could have pressed he alarm button or something like that rather than this over the top and dangerous response."
No complaints have been made to police over the incident.
