Taxi driver awarded €500 for assault

Cavan Courthouse, Farnham Street, the seat of the district and circuit courts locally.
A Cavan man who appeared before the local District Court charged with assaulting a taxi driver had the charge struck-out when he agreed to pay his victim €500 in compensation. Killian Cronin, Moynehall, Cavan town, was charged that on August 17, 2008, at Moynehall, he assaulted Sylvester Okafor. He denied shouting racial abuse at the taxi driver.Charges of making off without paying a taxi fare and using or engaging in threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour were taken into account.

Sylvester Okafor, a taxi driver, told the court that he picked up two girls and a man on Main Street. He dropped off the first girl at Swellan, where she got out and paid the €8 fare. The two others in the back told him they wanted to be brought somewhere else but he didn’t know where the location was. The girl said she would give him directions. When they got to the destination he told them the fare was €8. The defendant said he was not going to pay it. The driver said he would bring them back to where he picked them up and turned the taxi, when the girl pulled the hand brake up. The defendant knocked the taxi out of gear and then grabbed Mr. Okafor around the neck. There was a struggle but the driver managed to break free.

He managed to open the door and get out. The other man also got out and tried to punch him. The girl threw her handbag at witness and she also pulled the taxi sign off the top of the car and threw it at Mr. Okafor. The gardaí arrived on the scene. The defendant called the driver “a black b.....d”. Mr. Okaford denied hitting the defendant or the girl at any stage.

Cross-examined by Garrett Fortune, solicitor defending, Mr. Okaford said the whole dispute was over the price of the taxi fare. He denied charging them €14 to get from Swellan to Moynehall. Mr. Okaford said he didn’t know how the girl obtained her injuries.

Garda Andrew McGuill told the court that when he arrived at the scene three people were standing around the car. The taxi sign was lying on the ground. He spoke to Mr. Okafor and Amanda Brady, who was hysterical. Killian Cronin was also there and had his shirt ripped. Mr. Okafor claimed he had been attacked by Mr. Cronin and Ms. Brady. Both Mr. Cronin and Ms. Brady had been drinking. Mr. Okafor didn’t seem to have any physical injuries.

Killian Cronin said when they got to Swellan the taxi cost €8. They told him they were going to Moynehall. As they were passing Lidl he saw that the metre was reading €14 and he told the driver he was not paying that. He asked the driver to stop the car but he spun it around and headed back towards town. Witness shouted at him to stop, which he did and everybody got out.

Mr. Cronin denied putting his arm the driver’s neck, hitting him at any stage or calling him any names. The driver came at him and tore his shirt. He admitted that Amanda did pull the sign off the taxi and wave it at the driver. When Mr. Cronin turned around, he said Amanda was lying on the ground.

Amanda Brady corroborated and denied pulling up the hand brake. She told the court that the driver grabbed her by the arm and pushed her back and she fell to the ground. She went to the hospital the following evening. A chain was ripped off her neck and she also lost her ear rings. Replying to Inspector John Dollard, witness admitted she pulled the sign off the roof but denied throwing it at the driver. She agreed the whole situation got out of hand.

Judge Patrick Clyne said the crux of the matter was the taxi fare. Whether it was €8 or €14, World War Three broke out and they ended up having a row on the street. The assault was not at the upper end of the scale. The driver was entitled to make a living. On the night the defendant had drink taken and was aggrieved that they were being over charged. Inspector Dollard told him that the defendant had no previous convictions. The defendant undertook to pay Mr. Okafor €500 by way of compensation and Judge Clyne struck the matter out.