Third-year York student Luke Sandland has demanded an apology from 659 Taxis after he was abandoned by a driver while suffering from appendicitis.
Sandland, who studies French and Spanish with Linguistics was in agony with severe abdominal pains in the early hours of Sunday morning two weeks ago.
Sandland told The Press: “I told him [the cab driver] I thought I was going to be sick. He started pulling up, but I was sick out of the window, although I didn’t get any on the car. He pulled up and I opened the door and was sick again”.
The driver then left him to walk to hospital from the Sainsbury’s store at Foss Bank. He maintains that Sandland was sick inside the vehicle.
Director of 659 Taxi’s Adrian Smith also spoke to The Press: “Each driver is self-employed and it’s their decision whether or not to carry people,” he said.
“He’s made a judgement call because the lad has been sick in his car. If he’d said ‘I’ve got appendicitis,’ or ‘My arm is cut open,’ I’m sure he would have taken him to hospital, but it happens on a regular basis, people getting in the car and being sick, then being asked to leave the vehicle.”
On arriving at hospital Sandland was diagnosed with appendicitis. Doctors said the incident could have been fatal had he not made it to hospital.
Sandland has contacted 659 for an apology but said one was not offered. Smith said that a supervisor at the firm had offered an apology during their phone calls with Sandland and his mother.
YUSU Welfare Officer Bob Hughes told Vision: “It is worrying news, and we will be confirming with taxi companies to check that this isn’t common practice. Assumptions of students only being drunk are both unhelpful, and as we see here, potentially dangerous.”
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It is difficult to argue that the national generalisation of students as glorified city drunks is not justified.
The Vision news team and indeed student newspapers across the country have filled countless column inches reporting on the various debauched antics and misadventures of those who choose to call this city home for three short years. We are as guilty as anyone for fanning the flames of stereotype.
Nevertheless, Luke’s story is a startling illustration of how the local perception of our community can leave an unfortunate few in potentially dangerous situations.
Despite the laudable work of RAG in starting local initiatives with the aim of improving relationships with residents, suspicion and in some cases, muted hostility remains. You only have to trawl various York related web sites to find comment sections seething with misplaced indignation. Whether it’s resident associations blocking the construction of new student accommodation, or the tyrannical ‘noise patrol’ snatching Hi-Fis from the grasp of despairing parties, it is difficult to see a way in which the attitudes of those outside will realistically be altered.