Sacramento Cabbie Allegedly Stiffed After 1,500 Mile Fare To North Dakota
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A Sacramento cabbie was taken for a ride after he thought he scored the fare of a lifetime—five states from Sacramento to North Dakota.
It all started at the Sacramento Greyhound station where a young man approached Enaytayullah Hoseny and said, "Take me to Arden Fair mall." But once he got inside the taxi, that's when things got interesting.
For more than a decade, Hoseny has been hopping in his taxi and taking people from here to there. Most of the time it's pretty uneventful.
But last week, one young man got into his taxi and asked if he knew where North Dakota was.
He figured it couldn't be that far, but his GPS told him otherwise—22 hours and 15 minutes.
But the father of four needed the cash and came up with an offer—$1,200.
His passenger, 25-year-old Matthew Blackhanson agreed, handing over $240 up front and sweetened the deal, offering him $1,500 when they arrived in North Dakota. He was willing to sign a contract saying he'd pay up.
And off they went. The taxi driver left Sacramento and traveled nearly 1,500 miles through five states to Mandan, North Dakota.
But when they arrived, Blackhanson's fiancee, who was supposed to bring the cash never showed. That's when the driver realized he had been taken for a ride.
"He started crying, 'Oh please don't call the cops. I'm going to be in trouble. I want to see my fiancee,' and this and that," Hoseny said.
But he called police, who said Blackhanson was wanted on an outstanding warrant.
But now the Sacramento cabbie was out of gas and out of cash. He was forced to spend the night in a homeless shelter.
"I never sleep in a shelter ever in my life, swear to God. Never ever. That was so nightmare. That was so crazy," he said.
But crazy turned to compassionate after Hoseny went back to the gas station where he was stiffed. They gave him some cash and food and let him fill up his cab.
And off he went, lesson learned.
"I tell all the taxi drivers in the world, do not do this. This is so crazy and risky and even stupid," he said.
And it turns out had Blackhanson actually paid, he was getting a big discount. According to the taxi meter, the trip would have cost $4,800.
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