Police arrested a 34-year-old Burnaby man after they say he violently forced a driver from his taxi in Gastown on Tuesday night and then sped away before crashing blocks away at Venables Street and Clark Drive where the vehicle burst into flames.
The accused thief then tried to steal a second car while it was stopped at a red light, according to Vancouver police, but he was grabbed and detained by a witness.
The incident began around 7:15 p.m. March 14 when a Black Top cab was stopped at West Hastings and Carrall streets when "a man jumped into the taxi and forced the driver from the van," according to police. The driver was hit multiple times and was injured, say the VPD.
Minutes later, police were called with a report the taxi was speeding towards Prior Street, heading east along the Georgia Viaduct. Soon after, the VPD received more phone calls about a car collision between the taxi and another vehicle at Venables and Clark.
According to the VPD, "When police arrived at the scene, they found the taxi in flames and a citizen holding a man on the ground.
"Officers determined that the man being held had exited the taxi and attempted to carjack a vehicle that was stopped for a red light, westbound on Venables Street."
The driver of that second vehicle was a 40-year-old North Vancouver woman who was not injured but still "extremely shaken up," according to police.
The accused carjacker may face charges of robbery. He remains in police custody.
