ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- A cab driver took a brutal beating on the job by his own customer right outside a St. Augustine gas station and it was all caught on camera.
"It's pretty graphic," said Mark Samson, with the St. Augustine Police Department. "Knee strikes like that is something you see at an MMA fight, not in a cab, it's pretty bizarre to watch."
It all happened in the wee hours of Wednesday morning. Passenger Eugene Wilson didn't hold back on his cabbie, physically assaulting him for almost a whole minute. The driver was able to escape into Carmelo's Convenience shop with his cash, but not for long.
"A few seconds later, the suspect comes in and kind of chases him around the store," said Samson.
Wilson was relentless, shoving the cabbie around the store. Carmelo's owner Joe Tringali was blown away by the brawl.
"This is one of the ones I'll remember for a while," he said.
But it doesn't stop there. Wilson stole the cab to escape, and sped westbound on Quiet King Street. He reached speeds of 60 to 70 mph before crashing the cab around a curve. Police had to pry Wilson out of the vehicle. He is recovering from a fractured neck in the hospital, but will soon be transferred to jail where he will await trial. He was found with traces of ecstasy and cocaine in his system.
The cab driver only suffered a few bumps and bruises.
