Montreal Taxi Driver Hit and Run

[FiReSTaRT]

upset?
or being surrounded by a group of drunken idiots hitting his cab? Looks like he cranked the wheel, floored it, and whoever got in the way, got in the way, but he just wanted to gtfo of there.

That's what it looked like to me. While I'm no fan of cab drivers, there shouldn't have been any charges in this case. Tell the cabbie to behave himself, tell the idiots that they got lucky and call it a day.

[jeffjones]

If you watch the video he had plenty of opportunities to take off if he really wanted too. He did turn almost a full 360 so he had 4 different ways to get out of there.

Although, I think he shouldn't have the book thrown at him, and think the drunks got what they deserved.

[OpenGambit]

How different things are here than the US =D.

[psycho44]

If you watch the video he had plenty of opportunities to take off if he really wanted too. He did turn almost a full 360 so he had 4 different ways to get out of there.

Although, I think he shouldn't have the book thrown at him, and think the drunks got what they deserved.

I think the cabbie wanted to go back up the street that he came from but swerved to miss the red car and ended up facing oncoming traffic on a 1 way street. So he backed up and went down the street and bam ran over the guy.

The dude that got run over could have moved out of the way if he didn't try to jump onto the car's hood or kick at the car coming at him.

Though cabbie will have to explain why he didn't just go right after the initial backing up. Don't know why they charged him with hit and run. Did they expect him to stay on scene? I think he called the police too and was waiting for them to arrive so he can explain to insurance why his car was damaged. Than all hell broke loose and he booked it.

[nobbie48]

If you watch the video he had plenty of opportunities to take off if he really wanted too. He did turn almost a full 360 so he had 4 different ways to get out of there.

Although, I think he shouldn't have the book thrown at him, and think the drunks got what they deserved.

The problem is that we can't accurately judge because we aren't under the same stress as the cabbie. We aren't looking through his windshield either. What did he see from his narrower field of view?

Did the cabbie deliberatly run the guy down or did he think the guy would jump out of the way?

Was the guy too drunk to jump?

Who was the initial hostile party?

Did the cabbie truly fear for his life?

If you seriously thought you were going to be dragged out of your vehicle and beaten to death what would you have done?

Go to some other threads about home invasions, break-ins etc and see what the members have said. Location doesn't matter if you are being threatened.

IMO and generally speaking, a person who is drunk and aggressive has waived most of their rights.

[BusaBob]

I wonder what set this whole thing off.

In the video, you can see a guy run over and try to open the driver's door. It occurs after the moment the girl is seen saying something to the driver through the window, and just after one of the guys kicks the driver's door shot. In a similar situation, I believe I'd rightly fear for my safety as well.

It looks like the guy who got run over was the one who started kicking the passenger side, but I'm not sure.

I agree with what some of what the other posters have said: in that situation, you cannot judge the driver's actions based on the elevated view of the video which shows more perspective.

I think the video taken at ground level better represents the chaos of that moment.

From what I saw in the video, it looks like some hot heads got what they deserved.

Unfortunate nonetheless.

[BusaBob]

Nevermind. Just read this in the Toronto Sun: http://www.torontosun.com/2012/05/02...-jailed-cabbie

A police sergeant, citing eyewitness reports, told the court that the three men were drunk and making racial comments while riding in the cab....the clients began talking about voodoo and female circumcision before one of them punched Edmond [the taxi driver] in the chest. They jumped out of the taxi and Edmond went after them with a bottle and an ice scraper, say witnesses, before he got back into the car.The group gathered around the cab, with some people hitting the car and one man getting on the roof and jumping up and down.

The YouTube video shows the taxi running over one man, Benoit Kapelli, as it drives away from the group.
The officer testified that Edmond met some police officers down the street and cried out, "They'll kill me! They'll kill me!"

I think a decent argument could be made for self-defense.

Hardly seems like hit and run.

[BusaBob]

more details: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/...548/story.html

Edmond, 47, a black man of Haitian origin, picked up three very drunken white people at the corner of Milton St. and St. Laurent Blvd. As they inched up the congested street, the passengers talked about race and female genital mutilation, Montreal police detective Frédéric Gagné told the court.The passengers, apparently angry the cab wasn’t moving fast enough, got out of the taxi, allegedly without paying, Gagné said. The man in the front seat, Benoit Kapelli, is alleged to have punched Edmond in the chest before getting out.The passengers damaged a mirror on the car, so Guercy threw a bottle of Snapple at them, then jumped out wielding a snow brush, court was told. The passengers continued on foot north toward Rachel St. as Edmond returned to his car and followed alongside them.At one point, Guercy drove his vehicle toward one of the pedestrians, hitting a pole instead, and tearing the bumper off his car,

[fastar1]

more details: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/...548/story.html

IMO none of what happened before the video matters, because even during the video both sides had ample time to disengage from 'hostilities'.

However, at the moment when the cabbie ran over the guy towards the end, he was under assault. So it is very easy to see how he could have been fearing for his safety in that instant.

[braveheart]

dude got his face run over ! lol awesome.

anyone can pick apart a video frame by frame and give well thought out opinions on what they would have done.

well.... in REAL time, your hearts beating a million beats per second, you might panic, for all we know, he might have been on the phone with the police, or the cab company on what to do. People are kicking his car door, everyone is screaming at him. It didnt look like he was targeting anyone.

I think its beautiful that the dude that got run over was the guy who was kicking his door in the first place. Its just too bad he didnt throw it in reverse to take out the jackass that was on his roof.

If the judge is decent, he`ll make the dude that got run over, pay for the damage his face caused the car.

[AGAVE]

IMO none of what happened before the video matters, because even during the video both sides had ample time to disengage from 'hostilities'.

However, at the moment when the cabbie ran over the guy towards the end, he was under assault. So it is very easy to see how he could have been fearing for his safety in that instant.

What happened before does matter, the driver got punched in the chest as mentioned, insulted, then the drunk got out and began assaulting the vehicle, at which time the cab driver tried to hit him with the car, but hit a wall / parking post instead.
Then the video begins.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/...#ixzz1tlpxZiXx

The Haitian protesters just made their case worse on the news, saying the drunk deserved what he got, just for kicking the car.
Well that might be o.k in Haiti, but guess what, welcome to Canada, we have laws.
Other than the initial guy striking him inside the vehicle, no one tried to assault the driver, just his cab.
The drunks should be charged for whatever can be proven, and pay for the damaged car.

But let's not be fooled here, most of us drive a car, we can clearly see it's a 4 way intersection, many chances to leave, and when i'm running over a human body, i can usually feel a bump and stop before peeling out on his face.
There is 8 minutes of activity prior to beginning of tape according to the cameraman.

I'll add this quote for the lazy arses that won't read the whole article.

Edmond, who is of Haitian origin, picked up the "very drunk" passengers and as the car inched along a congested street and the meter kept running, they grew angry. One passenger allegedly said to Edmond: "They circumcise women in your country, don't they?"

Fed up of waiting in traffic, Benoit Kapelli — who would later be run over — punched Edmond in the chest and got out of the car, Gagne said witnesses told police.

Kapelli then started kicking the mirror and door on the driver's side, so Edmond got out, wielding a snow brush and bottle of Snapple, defence lawyer Yves Vaillancourt said.

"He got back in the car and the two passengers in the back got out," Vaillancourt said. "They continued to kick the car and blocked his way."

Gagne said Edmond continued driving north as the pedestrians walked on the sidewalk.

"(Edmond) said he lost control of his car, but he didn't say why," Gagne testified, referring to the allegation that Edmond deliberately ran into a street lamp where Kapelli was standing, tearing the front bumper off his car.

At this point, the dispute is picked up on video, and shows Edmond's car in the middle of the street. A few people appear and begin kicking the car, but not before Guercy could have driven away, the detective said. Someone climbs on the roof and jumps on it.

The taxi then does a three-point turn, and as it heads east runs over Kapelli. Gagne said Kapelli suffered two broken ribs, perforated spleen and bladder, lesions on his lungs and contusions on his stomach.

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/...#ixzz1tm4fIGUA

[fastar1]

dude got his face run over ! lol awesome.

anyone can pick apart a video frame by frame and give well thought out opinions on what they would have done.

well.... in REAL time, your hearts beating a million beats per second, you might panic, for all we know, he might have been on the phone with the police, or the cab company on what to do. People are kicking his car door, everyone is screaming at him. It didnt look like he was targeting anyone.

I think its beautiful that the dude that got run over was the guy who was kicking his door in the first place. Its just too bad he didnt throw it in reverse to take out the jackass that was on his roof.

If the judge is decent, he`ll make the dude that got run over, pay for the damage his face caused the car.

Agree 100%. That's scary.

[BusaBob]

i agree too.

i think the defense attorney, or one of the cab drivers interviewed (can't remember which) makes an interesting point that the driver would have been focused more to his right, at the guy who had just jumped up and down on the roof of the car and would not have seen the guy just about to start attacking the cab on the front driver's side before he was run over.

in the middle of that confusing melee, i could see how the driver would be in fear of his life and decide to make a bee line out of there to the nearest police station.

incidentally, the news report stated that the guy who was jumping up and down on the roof wasn't even with the initial group of 3 and didn't know them. He just saw the fracas and decided to join in as well.

[psycho44]

"The Crown was unable to present the video that's now been seen by viewers around the world, much to the chagrin of Judge Jean-Pierre Boyer."

"Boyer particularly criticized crown prosecutor Josiane Laplante for having not yet viewed the viral videos of the altercation, caught on cellphones and posted to YouTube. "

wtf? 4 days and he hasn't seen any of the videos posted on youtube but they charged the cabbie with some serious stuff.

My opinion of the cabbie has changed after reading this part:

"Gagné said Edmond continued driving north as the pedestrians walked on the sidewalk.

“(Edmond) said he lost control of his car, but he didn’t say why,” Gagné testified, referring to the allegation that Edmond deliberately ran into a street lamp where Kapelli was standing, tearing the front bumper off his car. "

In the close up video I was wondering why the front of the cab looked mangled up guess I know why now. Cabbie is not totally innocent he could have just called it a bad day and kept on driving instead of further escalating the problem. Cabbie knows why he lost control just doesn't want to incriminate himself.

This incident before the camera rolled can also show prior motive to run down the guy that got run over as well. Not looking good for the cabbie.

[short stop]

If the judge is decent, he`ll make the dude that got run over, pay for the damage his face caused the car.

I WISH we had judges like that around here.

[RockerGuy]

2 sets of morons trying to kill each other. Put them in a ring and let them fight it out mano a mano. Problem solved!

I don't see the big deal in this