A taxi driver who broke the collarbone of a passenger in a row over a €15 fare has been found guilty of assault.
At Ennis Circuit Court yesterday, a jury took just 21 minutes to find Okechukwu Utuke (44), Dún na hInse, Ennis, guilty of assault causing harm to Ennis man Michael L’Estrange at Gort na mBláth on April 25th, 2010.
Mr L’Estrange (48) said the taxi driver demanded €15 for the fare home, which he said usually cost €7.50 from Ennis town centre.
He told the court: “I told him no, I wasn’t paying that and I threw €10 down on the front passenger seat and got out of the car. The next thing that happened was that the taxi driver had jumped on top of me.”
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A witness took down the taxi number and gave it to gardaí.