Struck at night, taxi driver ends up in hospital

He gets out of the car to buy a pack of cigarettes from a vending machine e he is brutally attacked and beaten by three men. A violent and absurd beating with devastating consequences for the victim, a fifty-year-old taxi driver, who ended up in hospital with suspected fractures to his face from the blows.

The incident happened the other night around at 1.30 am, in Piazza Renato Simoni. The taxi driver had parked his car in the square near the tobacconist to look for a pack of cigarettes. What happened a few seconds after he got out of the car is incredible. Taking a few steps in the direction of the tobacco vending machine, the 50-year-old, described by his fellow taxi drivers as a calm, balanced person, always very professional and with many years of experience behind him, was approached by a trio of criminals. It is very likely that they are immigrants, according to the assailant himself later.

The episode is all the more disturbing as there would be no excuses of any kind to unleash anger of the three against the taxi driver, repeatedly hit in the face. Nor does there appear to have been an attempted robbery. But it will be the investigations, carried out by the agents of the mobile police brigade, to give a more defined picture of the events. Investigators are also reviewing images recorded by video surveillance systems located in the area.

At the scene of the attack, thanks to a call to 113 from a witness, the police cars arrived immediately, but the thugs had already disappeared and they managed to lose their trail. Rescued by the 118 operators, the taxi driver was taken by ambulance to Borgo Trento hospital. “What happened to our colleague is very worrying “, says Stefano Sella, president of the Uritaxi union, “and we hope that the perpetrators of the cowardly aggression will be identified and punished. At the same time ”, continues Sella,“ we ask the institutions to make a greater effort to improve night security, also in light of what happened recently in Piazza Erbe and in the station square. •

Enrico Santi