Dance student, 19, attacked ‘by minicab driver in row over fare’ 
Victim: Francesca Donnelly, 19, says she was punched and kicked by a minicab driver in a row over the fare
This is the bloodied face of a teenager who was allegedly attacked by a minicab driver after a row over the fare.
Francesca Donnelly, 19, said she was beaten by a private hire driver in Belsize Park as she made her way home after a night out.
The dance student, from Watford, said she was forced to the ground and kicked in the head repeatedly near Southampton Road in the early hours of Saturday morning.
She said the driver sped away from the scene and left her lying on the ground where she was later discovered by a passer-by who called the police.
Ms Donnelly, who studies at the London Studio Centre, told the Standard she booked a minicab from Hungerford Road in Islington at about 4.20am but got into a row with the driver.
She said: “My phone died so I went up to a car thinking it was mine and saw a couple of girls in the car.
“I asked where they were going and they said round the corner so I asked if I could get in to charge my phone and they let me in.”
Ms Donnelly said that after the driver dropped the other women off in the Tufnell Park area she was left alone in the car with him and she attempted to rebook her onward journey to High Barnet with him using an app on her phone.
She said she had trouble booking the journey and that the driver became aggressive about how she would pay.
Ms Donnelly said she asked him to stop the car near Mansfield Road so she could get into a different minicab she had booked via the app but he refused and locked the doors.
He eventually stopped the car in Southampton Road after they argued and he let her out but followed her out of the car and assaulted her.
Days later she is still heavily bruised with a swollen eye and said she is shocked whenever she looks in the mirror.
Ms Donnelly said: “I feel shaken. You always see these things on the news and think how horrible it is but you never think it will ever happen to you. I keep thinking it's my fault because I got in a random car.
“It can happen to you and you're not invincible. It’s made me realise you should always get in a cab with someone else and stay safe.
“I'm very thankful to the man, James, who found me, he was amazing, I don't know what I would've done if he hadn't found me.
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“I'm quite a strong person so I'm sure I'll get over it but it will take some time.”
A spokesman for the Met Police said they and the ambulance service were called to reports of an assault on Malden Road on Saturday, December 10.
“A 19-year-old woman was found injured at the location and was taken to a north London hospital with facial injuries,” the spokesman said.
“The woman alleged that she had been assaulted at Southampton Road by the driver of a private hire vehicle.”
Police said no arrests have yet been made and enquiries are ongoing.
source:
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/da ... 18356.html
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