Taxi driver assaulted fare who skipped his car on rank

A 50-year-old taxi driver has been convicted of assaulting a man who walked past his taxi and got into another one further down the rank.

Henry Egekwu, of 93 Sruthain, Mhuirlinne, Ballybane, had denied assaulting Morgan Curran, causing him harm at Eyre Square on November 11, 2013.

Mr Curran told the hearing at Galway District Court that he had been at a funeral earlier that day and decided to get a takeaway meal from Supermac’s in Eyre Square before getting a taxi home to Barna.

He got his food and walked towards the taxi rank.  He said he recognised the first taxi driver and decided to get the second taxi in the rank.

Mr Curran said that as he was getting into the second taxi, the driver of the first taxi (the defendant) shouted abuse at him and called him “an effin’ Irish bastard” for passing him out.

Mr Curran observed in court that he was free to pick any taxi he wanted.

He said he left his food in the back of the second taxi and went over to the first taxi.  He tapped on the window and the driver put the window up, nearly catching his hand.

He said the accused then got out of the car and hit him with his closed fist.

“He got back into his taxi and locked it afterwards,” Mr Curran said.

Mr Curran said he went back to the second taxi and the driver took him to Galway Garda Station and later to the hospital.  He said he received a cut just below his eye in the assault.

Mr Curran told defence solicitor, Alma Whelan, he thought he recognised the accused in the first taxi and he decided to get into another taxi.

She put it to Mr Curran that he and her client had exchanged words as Mr Curran walked down the rank and that after he had left the food in the other taxi, he had gone back up the rank to her client to ask him if he had a problem.

“He was shouting at me for passing him out and I asked him what was the problem.  I gave a tap to the window and he got out and hit me and got back into his taxi,” Mr Curran explained.

Ms Whelan put it to Mr Curran that he had put his hand in the window of her client’s taxi and hit him and that her client had defended himself.

Mr Curran denied this.  He said he had just tapped on the window and had never assaulted Egekwu.

Taxi driver, Martin Quinn, said he saw Mr Curran, whom he didn’t know at the time, come out of Supermac’s and walk past the first taxi.  He noticed something being said. Mr Curran then came to his taxi, he placed the food in his car and said he would be back in a minute.

Mr Quinn said he saw Mr Curran hit the glass.  He could not hear what was being said, but he then saw the accused get out of his taxi and hit Mr Curran.

He said he saw blood coming down Mr Curran’s face and he brought him to the Garda Station and later to the hospital.

Egekwu denied the charge and said he had been defending himself on the night.

Judge Mary Fahy convicted him and said she wanted him to pay €2,000 in compensation to Mr Curran.

The accused handed over €1,500 to the injured party in court and the judge then adjourned finalisation of sentence to July 1.

She indicated that if the balance of €500 was paid over to Mr Curran on that date, along with €100 witnesses’ expenses to Mr Quinn, she would consider not recording a conviction against the accused.