A taxi driver attached to the Green Ice Taxi Service was on Tuesday night badly beaten and robbed in a reported carjacking. He was later found passed out in his car, which was abandoned in Sophia.
Gladwyn Brandis, 44, of Lot 1170 Pigeon Place, South Ruimveldt, Georgetown was robbed of his car keys, a quantity of money, his gold chain, cellular phones and important documents by the carjackers who later escaped.
He was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) by the police who were summoned to the area by residents after the car, HC 6253, was observed parked on the roadway all night on Tuesday.
He sustained mainly head injuries and lacerations about his body and was found lying in an unconscious state in the back seat of his car which had been ransacked. Up to late last evening, he remained a patient at the hospital’s male surgical ward in a critical state.
Police have been unable to take a statement from Brandis in relation to the incident since he hasn’t regained consciousness.
Speaking to Stabroek News yesterday, Nicole Brandis, wife of the injured man, said she sensed something was amiss after numerous calls made to his cellular phone, went unanswered.
As a result, she said, she started to contact family members and her husband’s friends enquiring whether anyone had seen him, but came up empty handed. It was during this process that the base reportedly received a telephone call in which someone related that one if its cars was abandoned in Sophia.
Upon receiving the news, Brandis’ relatives rushed to the scene, but before they arrived he was taken to the hospital.
Nicole said she last saw her husband early Tuesday evening when he left home for work. She said while he has been plying his trade as a taxi driver for about 18 years, he has never had such an experience.
The circumstances surrounding the act remained unknown up to last evening and Nicole explained that based on what she was told, Brandis was last seen by a colleague exiting the North Ruimveldt area with passengers in his car. The matter is currently being investigated by the police.
