By Wainwright Jeffers - bio | email
September 7, 2008
ALBANY, GA (WALB) - Some scary moments for an Albany cab driver and his passenger after a gunman opened fire.
Shortly before 5:30 Sunday morning a man armed with a gun tried to rob them in the middle of the street.
The suspect opened fire, injuring the passenger and he is still on the loose.
73-year-old Thomas Laster is bandaged up and shaken up.
"A young guy came up to the side of the car and told him to give him my money," Thomas Laster, Victim.
Laster was taking his passenger Patricia Parks TO work in this taxi when they were targeted by an unknown male.
Thomas Laster pulled the taxi up to the intersection at the corner at South Jefferson and West Gordon, when the gunman walked up to the window demanding money, then open fire.
"I couldn't say nothing at first, before I knew anything he just started shooting," said Laster.
Laster sped off after the man started shooting into the van....the passenger who was riding in the front seat was hit in the upper back...the driver suffered cuts to his forearm from the breaking glass.
He drove to the emergency room.
"He got out of there as fast as he could because you can tell he had a bullet hole in the back of the van," said Malachi Lewis, Albany Veterans Cab Company Manager.
Malachi Lewis is the manager of Albany Veterans company.
He says he's seen situations like this before.
"We don't have a separator, but this guy was standing outside of the car, if we would have had the separator, and the cameras, the only thing we could survive is if we had some type of car that was bullet proof."
He says the cabbies who drive for him carry little cash.
"We don't carry no more than enough money to change $20 that's a rule that was made sometime ago," said Lewis.
Lewis says situations like this can't scare him off the road.
"But I'm one of the fellah that's got to do something and this is what I like to do, I drove 38 years and if life continues I'll probably run 38 more," said Lewis.
As for Laster he doesn't know if Parks was his last passenger.
"I really don't know what I'm going to do," said Laster.
Patricia parks was treaded for the gunshot wound and released.
The victims did not get a description of the suspect. If you have information that could help police call crime stoppers at 229-436-TIPS.
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Bullet hole from gunshot
bullets shattered all the windows on the left side of the vehicle
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