America
Indian-origin woman charged with assault on cabbie
Toronto, Sep 10
An Indian-origin woman from
the Canadian city of Calgary has been charged with common assault on a
cab driver after she threw a bag full of vomit on him, media reported.
Selena Narayan-Lachapelle, 33, will appear in court on October 14, Calgary Herald newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Police
said the incident occurred on the night of August 23 when the woman
hired the taxi from downtown Calgary for her home in the northwest
Sandstone Valley area.
While on the way, the woman got sick and puked in the vehicle. The cabbie then gave her a bag and continued driving.
After they reached the destination, the passenger threw up on the exterior of the vehicle.
After
the incident, when the driver requested a cleanup fee, the woman
started abusing him and threw the bag of vomit on him, covering his
clothes, phone, car seat and floor mats, police said.
"She became
upset and agitated. She was intoxicated by alcohol and was not prepared
to pay the cleanup fee," a police officer said.
The passenger's family later paid both the cleanup fee and fare.
President
of the cab service Kurt Enders noted that he was pleased with the
action of the police saying he believes drivers are now bringing these
issues "to the forefront, because things are starting to get done and
charges are being laid".
Calling this "an extreme case", Enders
said passengers do get sick in cars, probably every weekend, but this is
the first time he has heard of a bag of vomit being thrown at one of
his drivers.