Man quizzed over taxi hijack after passenger dies

Gardaí were last night continuing to question a man after a taxi was hijacked on a Dublin street and then crashed into a pole, killing a passenger.

The latest hijacking incident in the capital occurred at 8.30am yesterday when a taxi driver picked up two passengers who then attacked him near the Oliver Bond Flats area. The driver was ejected from the vehicle, which then sped off in the direction of James’s St.

It crashed into a pole at 8.45am, with one of the occupants sustaining serious injuries.

The man, in his 20s and understood to have been a passenger in the car, was pronounced dead a short time later in St James’s Hospital. A postmortem was due to be carried out last night.

Another man, also believed to be in his 20s, was arrested and taken to Kilmainham Garda Station.

It is believed he was not seriously injured. He was being questioned under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act and can be detained for up to 24 hours.

When the stolen taxi crashed into the pole it narrowly avoiding striking another car travelling in the opposite direction. Gardaí said the stolen vehicle was not being pursued when it crashed.

The incident is the latest in a spate of car-jackings targeting taxi drivers and members of the public.

John Ussher, president of the Irish Taxi Drivers Federation, told RTÉ: “Every taxi driver is concerned when you go out to work.

“We have always had hijackings, unfortunately, but in the last few months it seems to be on the increase, and that is a concern to everybody.”

* Witnesses are asked to contact Kilmainham Garda Station on 01 6667900 or the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666111.