Cabbie robbed, stuffed into trunk after BART pickup

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- An East Bay cab driver was taken on a wild and dangerous ride Thursday night.

He picked up three men at the Pittsburg BART station and drove them to Antioch, where they robbed him and stuffed him in the trunk.

Police rescued the driver on Skyline Boulevard in the Oakland Hills.

"Obviously you would be traumatized under those circumstances but I think he's doing fairly well. As far as I know he has no physical injuries whatsoever," said Capt. Leonard Orman of the Antioch Police Department.

Antioch police say the harrowing incident started around 10:30 p.m. when the driver picked up the men in his Antioch yellow cab.

His co-worker, who didn't want to be identified, says he'd only been working there three months. "He was new -- so he wasn't looking over his shoulder too well," the co-worker said.

The driver took the men to a nearby apartment complex. But instead of paying the fare, one of them pulled a gun, took his cash and cell phone and forced him into the trunk.

Police say they drove him around for half an hour -- discussing whether to kill him or beat him up -- but finally let him go.

Oakland police found the cab about 12 hours later, abandoned on 83rd Avenue.

It turns out that cab driver may not be alone. Oakland police confirm they're investigating at least two other cases in the last week of cab drivers who were robbed by their passengers when they got to their destination.

Police say it's too early to draw a connection but it's got local cabbies shaken up. "You know last night was my normal shift usually but I'd gotten the night off. It's kind of scary," said cab driver Dustin Freiberger.

Antioch police have asked BART to pull surveillance video and they say they've already found some valuable evidence inside the cab. But so far, they've made no arrests.

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oakland, antioch, crime, pittsburg, east bay news, jonathan bloom

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