Woman in taxi ‘terror’ is cleared

A woman who bit the hand and ear of a taxi driver who locked the doors and drove off with her trapped in the car has been cleared of assaulting him.

Mother-of-two Holly Burnett, 24, fought against taxi driver Terry Thornton after he trapped her in his car and drove away from her home at high speed, Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard yesterday.

Mrs Burnett was left “terrified” after the ordeal at Milltimber on March 19 last year but was arrested by police and kept in custody for two days. She was found not guilty of assault yesterday following a trial.

Taxi driver Mr Thornton was taking Mrs Burnett, of 26 Colthill Crescent, Milltimber, and her friend Lindsay Buchanan home from a night out in the city.

Mrs Burnett told the court her friend had left the car but she was still inside when Thornton “sped off” and grabbed her bag, which contained her purse and phone, when he feared he was not going to get paid.

She admitted twice grabbing the wheel from him in an effort to stop the car and biting him on the hand and then the ear lobe, but said her actions were in self-defence.

“I was in shock,” she said. “I just lashed out because I was scared. I didn’t know where he was taking me. I was alone in the taxi. If he had been driving slower I probably would have jumped out.

“I thought I was the victim. They kept me (in custody) for two days away from my son.”

Her husband, Arrash Nekonam, said his wife had been “terrified” after running home when the taxi finally stopped.

Mrs Burnett complained to the police and the taxi driver was charged, but officers later dropped the charges against him and arrested her instead. She was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder following her experience.

Defence agent George Mathers said his client had been a “prisoner” in the taxi.

“What this boils down to is abduction,” he said. “It’s kidnapping. She is being taken away from her home against her will in a taxi that is speeding away.”

Mr Thornton told the court his ear lobe had been “severed”, he had a permanent scar on his hand and he needed hospital treatment.

He said he had told Mrs Burnett that he was taking her to a police station.

Fiscal depute Sarah O’Gallagher said Mrs Burnett’s actions went “too far, in the circumstances”, but Sheriff Richard McFarlane accepted her plea of self-defence and said he had “no doubt whatsoever” that any aggression in the taxi was instigated by Mr Thornton.