TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Spanish woman jumped from a moving car on Thursday as its driver tried to evade police for operating an illegal taxi.
According to the Aviation Police Bureau, the incident occurred at 10:36 p.m. on West 3rd Road near Terminal 2, per ETtoday. Officers from the security division observed a 58-year-old man surnamed Hsu (許) illegally soliciting passengers with his private car.
When they attempted to pull Hsu over, he panicked and drove away. He ran a red light and also failed to yield to pedestrians at a zebra crossing.
The two rear doors of the car opened up, and the Spanish tourist jumped out of the right rear door. The woman sustained minor abrasions to her arms and was able to walk away from the scene.
Hsu quickly stopped the vehicle, at which point police intercepted him. The moment when the woman jumped from the illegal vehicle was captured by the dashcam of a car behind and uploaded to social media.
Hsu was fined NT$9,600 for disobeying police instructions, running a red light, and failing to yield to pedestrians at a crosswalk. The injured passenger retains the right to pursue legal action.
APB official Lin Wei-shao (林威邵) said that Hsu could be fined between NT$100,000 and NT$25 million (US$3,300 to US$834,000) under the Highway Act for operating an unlicensed taxi. His driver’s license and vehicle registration could also be suspended for four months to one year.
In addition, a 37-year-old man surnamed Chen (陳) was caught soliciting passengers at the scene for Hsu, per FTV News. Chen faces a fine of up to NT$25,000 for breaching the Civil Aviation Act.
Lin said that to maintain order at the airport, officers are assigned around the clock to crack down on illegal passenger solicitation. Between January and May, they recorded 1,564 infractions of the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act, 182 of the Highway Act, and 98 of the Civil Aviation Act.
The video below shows the Spanish woman jumping from the white sedan.
