Taxi Driver Beaten, Assailants Steal Cab in North Avenue Carjacking

A cab driver attacked in his taxi by two passengers struggled with the men over a gun used to hit him in the head before the suspects drove off with his vehicle, authorities said Monday morning.

The carjacking happened about 1:35 a.m. Monday at North Avenue and Olive Street, according to San Diego County sheriff's Sgt. Luis Chavez, near the state Routh 94 exit to Lemon Grove Avenue.

The victim told deputies he picked up the two men at 12th Street and Imperial Avenue in the East Village neighborhood of downtown San Diego, then drove them to Lemon Grove using the 94 freeway, the sergeant said in a statement.

While the cab was stopped at the intersection of North Avenue and Olive Street, one of the men in the backseat struck the driver in the head with the butt of a black semi-automatic handgun and the other passenger punched the driver, Chavez said.

During the struggle with the two men, the driver was able to get out of the cab but fell onto the street, where he was kicked in the head. He was left on the ground as the two assailants fled in the taxi, according to Chavez.

The driver suffered minor injuries, he said.

The suspects were both described as African American, dressed in dark clothes and black baseball caps.

—City News Service