Taxi driver assaulted with screwdriver

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

A Limerick taximan is recovering in hospital after being brutally
assaulted by a man and woman who dumped him on the side of a
country road late at night before making off in his taxi. Kieran
Canty, was said to be in a stable condition at the Mid-Western
Regional Hospital. He is being treated for injuries which include two
screwdriver stab wounds to the upper body.

Mr Canty, wholives in Caherdavin, was working in Limerick city centre
when he was flagged down by a man and woman at around 3am in
O’Connell Street. They asked to be taken to Croagh, about 13 miles
from the city, on the N21. When they got to Adamswood, Croagh, the
pair began a frenzied assault on Mr Canty. They demanded his takings
and forced him from the taxi. After leaving him on the side of the road,
with serious injuries and bleeding heavily the two drove off in his navy
coloured Mercedes.

Mr Canty, who served on the Limerick Taxi Association committee for
a number of years, raised the alarm after struggling to a house nearby.
"This incident brings it home the danger we can encounter," Philip
Hayes, a friend and long-time colleague said. Gardaí at Askeaton are
investigating.