Frightening cab ride has Winnipeg woman warning others

A Winnipeg woman says she may never take a cab again after she was locked inside a Duffy's taxi and eventually rescued by police.

Sasha Renaud said it happened when she and her boyfriend got into a cab outside the Palomino Club around 2:30 Sunday morning. 

They wanted a ride to their home in Transcona. But the driver told them his shift was almost up and he wouldn't go that far.

Renaud's boyfriend and the driver got out of the cab and continued to discuss it. She waited inside the car since others outside the club were scrambling for rides.

As her boyfriend went off to look for another ride, the driver got back into the car and drove off, with Renaud still inside.

"I was asking him, where are you taking me?" she said. "And he wasn't answering me. And I said, 'OK, I'm going to phone Duffy's. And he told me to go ahead."

Renaud said they drove for about 10 minutes before coming to a stop on a street Renaud didn't recognize. She said he only stopped because she called police. But then, the driver got out, leaving her locked inside. 

Renaud said the car was equipped with child locks, and she was trapped inside. She was terrified. 

"I'm going to die," she said. "I'm going to end up in a ditch somewhere and nobody's going to know where I was."

The driver waited outside the vehicle as Renaud panicked. 

"I just didn't understand why he wouldn't let me out," she said. Police finally arrived and drove Renaud home. 

Duffy's said it is investigating Renaud's complaint. Winnipeg police though told CBC they chalk it up to a breakdown in communication. 

Police told Renaud the driver was confused and didn't understand because his English is weak. Renaud doesn't buy that. 

"I definitely don't think he should be working," she said. 

She said she will also file a complaint with Manitoba's Taxicab Board, and is warning others on Facebook about her experience. 

Taxicab Board chair Bruce Buckley said cab drivers aren't allowed to refuse a fare because their shift is almost over or because the destination is too far. He said there are about 250 complaints about drivers every year and the drivers are checked out before they are hired.

"You have to have a criminal records check, that's clear," he said. "And you have to submit to a child abuse registry check." 

Renaud said for her, though, the damage is done. 

"It's scary, because cab drivers are supposed to be your safe drive home."