A Badger Cab driver suffered a concussion last Thursday afternoon after she was assaulted and robbed in her vehicle outside the Madison Bus Depot at 2 South Bedford Street.
The 56-year-old cab driver was sitting in her vehicle when the assailant, a Hispanic male, about 5’4″ to 5’6″ in his early 20s, knocked on the passenger side window and requested the driver give her a ride east, according to a police report.
The man then entered the cab, grabbed her hair, punched her twice in the head and demanded money, the report said. After getting money from the driver, the assailant fled on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash.
The cab driver was injured in the incident and was taken to a local hospital to be treated for a mild concussion, according to the report. Despite her injuries, she recovered quickly, said a fellow Badger Cab employee.
“She’s fine,” he said. “She was back to work a few days later.”
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said he was very surprised by the incident.
“I can’t think of a time when I heard of a cabbie being robbed, let alone beaten,” Verveer said.
Verveer said the crime was all the more rare considering how little crime typically occurs in the area and the vigilance of the Badger Bus depot’s personnel in alerting the authorities when necessary.
“There really is very little serious crime as a result of the bus depot so this was a very, very isolated, random incident,” Verveer said. “[The bus depot] runs a very tight ship. Their employees are very vigilant and troublemakers are banned from the properties.”
Verveer said he believes the assailant’s level of intoxication could have played a factor in the crime, but said he was not sure.
The nearby Bassett neighborhood has encountered problems caused by homeless individuals with substance abuse problems before, Verveer said.
Verveer added the high quality of police work in response to such crimes and the increased police presence as a result of the homicide of University of Wisconsin student Brittany Zimmermann has resulted in a safer neighborhood.
However, Madison residents still need to exercise caution when walking around downtown Verveer said.
“I think things have gotten better than worse,” Verveer said. “But you still have to take a lot of precautions. There are still people that prey on downtown residents.”
The perpetrator was last seen wearing a puffy red down jacket with square quilting, a red stocking cap and baggy jeans.