Philadelphia taxi cab stolen by half-naked man, driven through park, cops say

PHILADELPHIA -- Police in Philadelphia say a half-naked man stole a taxi Monday afternoon before driving it through a popular pedestrian park as passersby scrambled to get out of the way.

The bizarre incident started around 3 p.m., CBS Philadelphia reports.

A taxi driver was inside the cab with a female passenger when a shirtless man assaulted the woman, police say. Neither the driver nor the woman were injured, according to police. The man jumped in the driver’s seat of the cab and drove through the crowded center city park with hundreds of onlookers around. 

The man then crashed the car, and a good Samaritan pulled him out and held him down until police arrived. No one nearby was injured in the incident. 

The taxi driver Michael Emanuel called the brief cab thief “a crazy guy” and described the violent scene of his passenger being physically pulled out of the car.

“A crazy guy came from the passenger side and he opened the passenger side door and he grabbed her by the collar and he dragged her on the street,” Emanuel said. 

Police say they believe the suspect was under the influence of an unknown substance. He remains in police custody.