A Derry taxi driver has said he is lucky to be alive after being attacked by two of his passengers and left for dead.
Colin McBride, from Top of the Hill, had just started his shift on Saturday morning (December 16) when he picked up two men in the Abercorn Road area.
After picking them up the men asked the 44-year-old City Cabs driver to take them to Greysteel and he agreed.
Mr McBride said that the men chatted on the phone throughout the journey and asked him to stop at various places.
After an argument broke out between the two men they began fighting and Mr McBride took off his seatbelt to ask them to calm down.
Both men then proceeded to attack Mr McBride causing him to crash his car, flipping it over and driving into a ditch.
Mr McBride regained consciousness over an hour later and both men were gone.
He managed to get himself out of the car and flagged down a local farmer who took him to a house he owned in the area.
Mr McBride then got a taxi back to Derry where he collapsed and was taken to hospital.
He said that the passengers were in their mid 30’s and judging by their accents seemed to be from the Limvady/Greysteel/Ballykelly area. One of the men was wearing a Christmas jumper.
Mr McBride suffered two black eyes, a broken nose, damage to his teeth and torn ligaments in his back and spine as a result of the attack.
He had to undergo an MRI to diagnose the full extent of his injuries
Mr McBride described his condition after the attack as being ‘in pure agony’.
“They just seemed like two normal fellas when I picked them up,” he said.
“I was punched repeatedly in the back of the head and drove the car into a ditch rolling it three or four times, when I came to there was blood everywhere.
“I can hardly move and need to have an MRI to find out the full extent of my injuries as there’s a black shadow on my neck. They wanted to keep me in hospital longer but I needed to get out.
“The doctors told me that if I make one wrong move I could be paralysed, it’s scary.”
He said that this was the first time anything like this had happened in his career.
“I’ve been taxiing for for over 20 years and have never experienced anything like this,” Mr McBride said.
“I currently work for City Cabs but I’m thinking of giving it up after this, my cars still out there, upside down in a ditch.
“I’m now off the road over Christmas with no income coming in.”
Mr McBride said that he hoped going public over the attack would result in the men responsible being arrested.
“The two men must be badly injured after attacking each other and the crash.
“I’m hoping by going public someone locally will know two men who were hurt and make the connection.
“They left me for dead, you wouldn’t do it to a dog.”
