Charlie Smith
A TAXI driver has been sacked after a passenger stole his car at a petrol station.
After picking up his client in Torre del Mar at 4pm on Wednesday, the taxi driver of two years stopped to refuel in Cajiz.
Once he left the vehicle to fill up, the passenger, an unidentified Romanian man, jumped into the driver’s seat and sped off towards Marbella.
The fugitive later stopped in Benalmadena and filled up with €85 of fuel, before he left without paying.
Francisco Jose Jimenez, boss of the taxi firm said: “The driver quickly called me and I warned my colleagues over the radio so they would be on the lookout all the way down to Marbella.”
The car was later found dumped in the El Angel area of Marbella at 11pm, six hours after it had been hijacked.
Police tracked the vehicle via the CCTV of nearby hotels, but the passenger is still on the run, despite being identified.
Jimenez, who was forced to fire his driver, added: “He made the mistake of not filling up for such a long journey, and should never have stopped to refuel with a client.
“It left a bad taste in my mouth, but I had to do it.”
The taxi suffered minor damage, including the removal, by the thief, of the light module on the roof.
