VANCOUVER Police are investigating an eastside carjacking that ended up with a taxi bursting into flames.
Around 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday night, a Black Top Cab was stopped at West Hastings Street and Carrall Street when a man jumped into the taxi and forced the driver from the van. The driver, a South Asian, was hit multiple times, but received minor injuries. The thief then sped off, southbound on Carrall Street.
Minutes later, police received a call of a taxi being driven at a high rate of speed in the area of Prior Street and the East Georgia Viaduct. Police also received a call of a collision between a taxi and another vehicle at the intersection of Clark Drive and Venables Street.
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 at Clark Drive. The driver of that vehicle, a 40-year-old woman from North Vancouver, was not injured, but was extremely shaken up in the ordeal.
A 34-year-old man from Burnaby is facing potential charges for robbery and remains in police custody.