Another city cabbie became the victim of violence overnight.
The yet to be identified taxi driver drove himself to the hospital after being shot by would-be robbers, according to Philadelphia Police.
The 53-year-old driver picked up two men and drove them to Chew Avenue and E Hortter Street in the East Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia around 1:50 a.m. Tuesday.
Before getting out of the Germantown Cab Company taxi, the men announced a robbery and began to root through the driver’s pockets, according to police.
While robbing the driver one of the men opened fire hitting the cabbie in the right arm.
The men got out of the cab and the driver rushed himself to Germantown Hospital. From there police rushed him to Einstein Hospital so he could be treated. He remained in critical condition Tuesday morning.
Colleagues identified the victim as William Carney III -- a driver with Germantown Cab for about two years. They said he was upgraded to stable condition.
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Carney was expected to make a full recovery. Police say it could have been worse.
“Anytime you’re shot inside of a car you know you are shot from point blank range -- it’s very confined in a car, there’s not much distance -- so this cab driver is very, very lucky that he was just shot in the arm,” said police Chief Inspector Scott Small.
Small said the cabdriver lost a lot of blood.
One person was taken into custody and questioned overnight but wasn't considered a suspect. The shooter and other suspect remained on the loose. If you know anything about this crime contact Philadelphia Police.
This is at least the third time this year that a Philly cab driver became the victim of crime. Just last month, a cabbie was shot and killed after picking up a fare in West Philadelphia. That shooter remains on the loose.
