UNSUNG HEROES
SOUTHAMPTON CABBIE WALKED MILES IN BLIZZARD TO DELIVER VITAL BLOOD SUPPLIES
For thousands of peo- ple caught in snow chaos, getting home safely was the priority in the treacherous conditions.
But one Southampton man went beyond his call of duty to help save lives. Taxi driver Abdirashid Issa abandoned his car in huge tailbacks and trekked through a blizzard for four miles in freezing tempera- tures to deliver vital emergency blood sup- plies to a hospital. He was then stranded overnight before he made the four-mile trek back to get his car. Mr Issa, who works for Central Shirley Cars, was on an emergency assignment to take blood from Southamp- ton General Hospital and deliver it to hospi-
tals in Winchester and Basingstoke for doc- tors to treat emergency patients on operating tables. The round trip, which usually takes the mar- ried dad of three from St Mary’s one and a half hours, turned into a nightmare when thick snow paralysed Hampshire’s transport network.
Mr Issa, who moved to England from Somalia in Africa six years ago with his wife Iasha, set off with the blood at 5pm and managed to get to Winchester hospital in good time to make the precious delivery by 5.45pm.
Dreadful conditions meant he did not reach Basingstoke until 11pm - almost five hours later - and
when he got to the worst affected area of Hampshire he was powerless to escape the gridlocked traffic. He told the Southern Daily Echo: “It was very important. It said ‘urgent blood’ and if someone needed it I had to make sacrifices because they might be dying.”
Mr Issa abandoned his car near to a round- about just off the M3 exit and set off on foot with the blood, wading through thick snow and ice for an hour to follow the signs to the hospital A&E depart- ment four miles away to hand the blood sup- ply to doctors at midnight.
The brave dad, strand- ed in Basingstoke when all the hotels were full, then spent
CARING HARTLEPOOL CABBIE’S ULTIMATE CHRISTMAS PRESENT
ton or Middlesbrough can be as much as £60 and that is a lot of money.”
His kind offer was first inspired after his son Joe, who was 12 at the time, broke his arm last year and he was taken to the Stockton hospital.
Taxi driver John Osborne Photo courtesy of the Hartlepool Mail
A caring cabbie once again pledged to give up his Christmas Day to transport Hartlepool residents to see sick relatives in out-of-town hospitals. Taxi driver John Osborne offered to take town folk through to Stockton’s Universi- ty Hospital of North Tees and the James Cook University Hospi- tal, in Middlesbrough, free of charge.
It is the second year in a row that John has
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agreed to help out stricken residents unable to visit relatives due to bus services not running. Self-employed John, who has driven taxis for 15 years, told the Hartlepool Mail: “We all know that since some of the services have been taken away from Hartlepool it can be difficult for people to get through to Stockton and Middles- brough. “A return taxi to Stock-
Joe was kept in hospi- tal and the daily commutes back and forth to hospital inspired the idea of pro- viding free Christinas Day travel.
He added: “This serv- ice I’m offering is open to anyone in town, but particularly older peo- ple who have no other way of getting there. John said: “I am used to working on Christ- mas Day, so it doesn’t matter to me.” Mmm... We know the festive season is over, but had to include this in our Heroes section. Well done John!–Ed
the night on a waiting room chair until he made the four-mile walk back to retrieve his car at 7am and returned to South- ampton.
A spokesman for the North Hampshire Hospital in Bas- ingstoke said: “We want to say a big thank you to this heroic taxi driver who has gone beyond the call of duty for the good of our patients. It is just exceptional.” Central Shirley Cars’ managing director Fred Terry added: “He is so dedicated to his job and what he has done is unbe- lievable.
“I am so proud of him and all our drivers and it just shows what they will do to get the job done.”
KINDLY WREXHAM DRIVER GIVES OAP A ROOM
A kind-hearted cabbie gave a stranded pen- sioner a place to stay after she was left snow- bound in Wrexham. Taxi drivers tried des- perately to drive Florence Williams home to Llandegla during last month’s big freeze, but the roads were impassable. Bob Hibbert, manager of Wrexham and Pres- tige Taxis on Brook Street, told the Chester Leader: “Mrs Williams was brought back to the taxi office in tears because she didn’t know how to get home.”
“She didn’t have enough money for a hotel and she said she didn’t have any friends or family to help. She was laden down with enough shopping for a month.”
Mr Hibbert continued: “We rallied around and said ‘Look guys, this lady can’t get home to Llandegla, what are we going to do?’
“Then driver Abdul Ahed said: ‘I’ll ring my wife’ because they have a spare room. “They had her round and fed her and put her to
bed.She was in tears that somebody had enough kindness and human compas- sion to do this.” The next morning taxi driver Paul Geddes drove Mrs Williams back to her home at Ty Isoe in Llandegla - and insisted she did not pay any taxi fare. Mr Hibbert added: “Cer- tain people have human kindness and I’m over the moon that my staff have helped her.”
HONEST NEW YORK CABBIE RETURNS CASH LEFT IN HIS TAXI
A Bangladeshi taxi driver in New York City has gone out of his way to track down the person who left thou- sands of dollars in cash in the back of his cab.
Mukul Asadujjaman, a medical student, drove nearly 80kms (50 miles) to an address which he had found with the money.
He left his phone num- ber when he found no one at home. The money belonged to an Italian grandmother visiting the US.
Mr Asadujjaman was offered a reward, but he turned it down say- ing that as a devout Muslim he could not accept it. Felicia Lettieri, of Pom- peii, Italy, and six relatives had taken two cabs on Christ- mas Eve, Newsday newspaper reported. Mrs Lettieri, 72, left her handbag behind in the
back of the cab, with more than $21,000 of the group’s travelling money, jewellery worth thousands more, and some of their pass- ports.
Her sister, Francesca Lettieri, 79, of Long Island, said the honest driver had saved her family’s vacation. “We really love what he did,” she said. A gracious Asadujja- man was quoted by the newspaper as say- ing that he may be broke, but he was also honest.
“My mother is my inspiration. She always said to be honest and work hard.”
Mr Asadujjaman called a friend with a car and drove some 80km to a Long Island address in the handbag.
No one was at home, so he left his phone number and a note, the report said.
His phone rang a short
time later and he drove back to return the bag. “They were so, so, so happy,” Mr Asadujja- man told the paper. Asked if he was tempted to keep the cash, Mr Asadujjaman said the money would have allowed him more time to study, “but my heart told me that this is not a good thing to do”.
He also turned down a reward, saying he could not accept it as a devout Muslim, Newsday reported. “I’m needy, but I’m not greedy,” he said. “It’s better to be honest.” Mr Asadujjaman is not the first honest Ameri- can-Bangladeshi cabbie to hit the head- lines for noble behaviour.
In 2007,
driver Osman Chowd- hury returned a lost bag containing dia- mond rings worth $500,000 to the rightful owner.
PHTM FEBRUARY 2010
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