Smirking digger driver crushed taxi after row over fare

Big Nasty

A taxi driver has revealed the astonishing moment when he watched his car being destroyed by a digger - just hours after a row with a customer over a fare.
Co Antrim man Jonathan Brown (36) said his taxi was left a write-off after the attack which happened in the early hours of yesterday morning. Police said they have arrested a man in connection with criminal damage.
Earlier on Monday evening Mr Brown had picked up a fare in Crumlin. He claims that he had exchanged words with the customer following a disagreement over the fare.
He said: “We argued about it and let’s just say a few choice words were exchanged. He eventually threw £10 (€11.50) at me and walked away. We did not leave on the best of terms.”
Mr Brown returned to his home at around 1.15am where his three children aged 10, nine and five, were asleep in bed. He watched some TV to unwind. His wife Denise was upstairs but still awake. When he got up to go to bed it was 2.45am.
He described what happened next as “unbelievable”.
He said: “I heard a loud noise like the revving of an engine. I looked out and there was a man driving towards the house in a digger smiling from behind the wheel.
“He drove down the driveway smashing into my car, ramming it down to the back of the house and through the hedge.
“It was all over in a couple of seconds but the car is a complete write-off.”
Mr Brown called the police immediately before trying to calm his family and his pets, who were locked up in the back garden. “I keep animals. Goats, chickens and ducks, they are just shocked to the core. I had to get the vet out to them today,” he said.
“The children were also woken up by what happened. We sent them to school this morning and are trying to act as normally as possible. They seem to be coping quite well.
“We moved from west Belfast years ago to give my children a better upbringing, but we never had any bother there. This is not the thing you would expect around here, it is just unbelievable. My wife can’t quite believe it either.
“We were very lucky he didn’t drive the thing into the house or I don’t want to think about what might have happened.
“I’m going to be out of work for God knows how long as it is not a straightforward car accident, so I don’t know what way my insurance will work or if I will get a replacement car. This has just left me high and dry.”

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/smirking-digger-driver-crushed-taxi-after-row-over-fare-2034296.html

I have to reiterate this quote:

“I keep animals. Goats, chickens and ducks, they are just shocked to the core. I had to get the vet out to them today”

:eek:

MaybeLogic

He picked up the fare in Crumlin. Whad'ya expect? :rolleyes:

mathie

Crumlin to Antrim is €11.50 now?

GAAman

MaybeLogic wrote: »

He picked up the fare in Crumlin. Whad'ya expect? :rolleyes:

Might be the crumlin in antrim clever hole :rolleyes:

syklops

GAAman wrote: »

Might be the crumlin in antrim clever hole :rolleyes:

Reminds me of the joke of the 2 ducks walking down the street in Crumlin, Co. Antrim.

One says "Quack quack"
And the other says "Im going as quack as i can."

humanji

Is this Crumlin in Dublin? Why did the guy throw Sterling at him then?

zonEEE

Well thats one way to get taxi fares down

Big Nasty

humanji wrote: »

Is this Crumlin in Dublin? Why did the guy throw Sterling at him then?

There's a Crumlin in Antrim - guess it's that one!

dario28

I'd be more concerned why he locked his family in the garden with the pets !!!


Mr Brown called the police immediately before trying to calm his family and his pets, who were locked up in the back garden. “I keep animals. Goats, chickens and ducks, they are just shocked to the core. I had to get the vet out to them today,” he said.

o1s1n

Haha, I love the way he puts the concern of his animals before his children.

phasers

“The children were also woken up by what happened. We sent them to school this morning and are trying to act as normally as possible. They seem to be coping quite well.

Wow, they must have really loved that car.

humanji

MCMLXXV wrote: »

There's a Crumlin in Antrim - guess it's that one!

Hmmm, my google powers are weak. Strange how they don't point that out in the article. Bit silly, really.

BluesBerry

His wife Denise was upstairs but still awake.

Hmm maybe she was in on it and she was having an affair with the disgruntled passenger and knew it was going to happen

Wazdakka

humanji wrote: »

Hmmm, my google powers are weak. Strange how they don't point that out in the article. Bit silly, really.

Agreed..

If I'd had known this had happened outside of Dublin I wouldn't have bothered reading it..

Nothing worth caring about in Ireland happens outside of Dublin.
Everybody knows that.

dario28

One of the worst written stories in the history of the indo....reckon the work experience person had a bash and tried to get every detail in !

"Mr Brown returned to his home at around 1.15am where his three children aged 10, nine and five, were asleep in bed. He watched some TV to unwind. His wife Denise was upstairs but still awake. When he got up to go to bed it was 2.45am."

All this detail but left out what he was watching...my money is on Taxi Driver

brianthebard

How did he see the digger driver smiling at night, in the cab?

Forest Master

MaybeLogic wrote: »

He picked up the fare in Crumlin. Whad'ya expect?

MaybeLogic wrote: »

I believe it's unfair and inaccurate for anyone to make generalisations.

:rolleyes:

phasers

Forest Master wrote: »

:rolleyes:

This is After Hours, opinions vary from thread to thread

Big Nasty

brianthebard wrote: »

How did he see the digger driver smiling at night, in the cab?

Vanity mirror light?

Owenw

I bet it was Pat Mustard driving the digger!

Mike 1972

humanji wrote: »

Hmmm, my google powers are weak. Strange how they don't point that out in the article. Bit silly, really.

It doesnt mention Dublin anywhere either.

Is there some default assumption that a place is in Dublin unless specified otherwise ?

Big Nasty

Mike 1972 wrote: »

It doesnt mention Dublin anywhere either.

Is there some default assumption that a place is in Dublin unless specified otherwise ?

Save that for the other thread. :rolleyes:

tricky D

o1s1n wrote: »

Haha, I love the way he puts the concern of his animals before his children.

Probably got the vet to have a look at them too.

ScumLord

brianthebard wrote: »

How did he see the digger driver smiling at night, in the cab?

Makes me doubt the whole storey to be honest. You must acquit, he can't see ****..

aligator_am

He probably mistook the taxi for an ATM.

Mike 1972

MCMLXXV wrote: »

Save that for the other thread. :rolleyes:

?

Big Nasty

Mike 1972 wrote: »

It doesnt mention Dublin anywhere either.

Is there some default assumption that a place is in Dublin unless specified otherwise ?

Mike 1972 wrote: »

?

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055810809

Mike 1972

Why would someone post a response to something posted in this thread in another thread* it doesnt make sense ?

* Unless in protest at multilple weekly threads on essentially the same subject which isint the case here.

Aidric

Sounds like a b-movie script that was thrown away for being too shit.

Dunjohn

It really is a remarkbly badly padded-out article. I suppose, guy crushes other guy's car, not much to say about the core issue.

Would've liked to hear some words from local survivors, maybe get Bono's opinion on the situation.

Still, a right twat. Hard to imagine that someone would come back, hours later, and still not see sense.

partyatmygaff

To be fair the kids probably were shocked at a guy crushing their car with a digger in the middle of the night. That's a bit em.... startling, no?

Could've been worse...http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1522522/How-tenant-answered-landlords-rent-demand.html

stovelid

The smirking reference is the real Pulitzer-standard accoutrement.

Nicely sets the errant tone of this wanton JCB-led vandalism.

Abi

partyatmygaff2 wrote: »

To be fair the kids probably were shocked at a guy crushing their car with a digger in the middle of the night. That's a bit em.... startling, no?

He's a taxi man, they have to be used to that kind of thing. Besides, they were out the back with the pets.


Feckin' chancer.

m@cc@

Fare play to him.

Dunjohn

That one line, though, the one that really, really bugs me, because it makes no sense yet appears in every single interview in relation to anything that happens to anyone anywhere ever:

You really wouldn't expect that sort of thing around here.

Why the **** not? Where WOULD you expect this sort of thing to happen? What's so unique about YOUR area that absolutely nothing out of the ordinary could happen there?

AND I KEEP ****ING SEEING THIS LINE

....and now, all of you will, too.

Dunjohn

Dunjohn wrote: »

You really wouldn't expect that sort of thing around here.
.

Well you don't! unless there is an anger management course being run nearby where they give the patients JCBs instead of prozac.

edit: now theres an idea for a new startup business.. :pac:

Dunjohn

But every time there's a murder, you don't expect that sort of thing around here. Or the nice old man down the road turns out to have some rather unusual private interests, you'd never have thought it could happen in a place like this. Or a post office is robbed, sure this is a quiet little town, we JUST DON'T EXPECT TO SEE THIS **** HERE!!!!

Ghah, hearing this in every single radio news bullitin almost drives me to suicide, but I couldn't possibly go through with it, because none of my neighbours would have expected it to happen in a quiet little place like this.

rainbowdrop

Never knew there was a Crumlin in Antrim.....

Ya learn something new everyday!!

Dunjohn

Dunjohn wrote: »

But every time there's a murder, you don't expect that sort of thing around here. Or the nice old man down the road turns out to have some rather unusual private interests, you'd never have thought it could happen in a place like this. Or a post office is robbed, sure this is a quiet little town, we JUST DON'T EXPECT TO SEE THIS **** HERE!!!!

Ghah, hearing this in every single radio news bullitin almost drives me to suicide, but I couldn't possibly go through with it, because none of my neighbours would have expected it to happen in a quiet little place like this.

http://www.tv-intros.com/t/tales%20of%20the%20unexpected.jpg

sceptre

dario28 wrote: »

One of the worst written stories in the history of the indo....reckon the work experience person had a bash and tried to get every detail in !

At a guess, they got it from a local reporter, which explains the padding out (tends to be more prevalent with local papers at times) and the lack of mentioning that it was Crumlin in Co Antrim.

I just hope the digger guy stays out of McDonalds after 11:30 or there'll be gunfire when he can't get breakfast.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hM8qT9Xop5k

dario28

and how did he know where the taxi man lived anyway......

RTTH

FAS will soon have a policy on their training courses for JCB and Plant. Only those with a clean police record need apply.

monkeypants

And did no one get a picture of this crushed car?

dario28

monkeypants wrote: »

And did no one get a picture of this crushed car?

No but they got a pic of one of his shocked pets....

Shocked !

monkeypants

I'd say that's one of his kids, we are talking about Antrim after all.

Really bad article though.

At least the Daily Fail would have had a picture of a smirking man crushing a car with the clause "Picture posed by models" underneath.

Ally Dick

Seeing as it was a JCB in Antrim, I'm assuming the occupant was on his way to relieving a bank of it's ATM immediately afterwards ?

humanji

Mike 1972 wrote: »

It doesnt mention Dublin anywhere either.

Is there some default assumption that a place is in Dublin unless specified otherwise ?

The independent is an Irish paper. It's odd that they'd talk about an incident that happened in a different state without mentioning that it happened in a different state.

Also, I only know of two Crumlin's in the Republic. One in Dublin and there's a small town in, I think, Laois. So without the need of being Sherlock Holmes, and seeing so much crime happens in Dublin, it doesn't seem to be too big of a stretch to think that that's the Crumlin they were talking about.

But I could of avoided all this confusion at the start if only I had aasked if the article was about the Crumlin in Dublin. Oh, wait...