Cab Driver Demands Mom-In-Labour to Clean up “Mess” After Her Water Broke and She Started Birthing in His Taxi

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on July 22, 2019. It has since been updated.

In an unprecedented act of insensitivity, a taxi driver who was transferring a woman who went into labor screamed at her during this intensely important and painful moment of her life for making a "mess". The man demanded that the woman, whose water broke 11 days early, pay him £50 more for a £6 trip since she made a "mess". 

Dana Harrison, 23, went into labor earlier than expected and "had the baby’s head in her hands" when she reached the hospital. Even as she managed to get out of the cab, the unnamed driver hankered after her and wanted to know if the woman, who had already begun crowning, was "going to clean the car", according to Sun UK. The man's reaction was outrageously ignorant and inconsiderate, and she hasn't even received an apology for his behavior. 

He told the mom "he was going to wait outside for someone to bring him some wipes".

"He even wanted me to come back out and clean up," Dana said. The hapless mother stuck in this difficult situation was panicking about her child, getting to a hospital, and herself. Desperate to get away from the taxi driver, who had the audacity to scream at a woman giving birth, she paid him whatever money she had in her purse. She gave him a £30 bonus on top of the £6 fare while he had demanded for £50.

“He was such a horrible man, I hope no one else has to go through what I have. I started giving birth in the taxi and the driver started shouting at me about making a mess. I was so stressed because I really wasn't expecting to give birth so soon. When we got to the hospital he was asking for £50 but all I had was £30 so I just gave him that, he wasn't happy. There wasn't even that much mess, it was just a bit of water, most of it was in my trousers," said the mom. 

Moments after going through this harrowing ordeal, she gave birth to her son Blake. The new mom and her partner, Aiden Ibbotson, are furious with the Roadrunners cabs company, and despite trying haven't found the name of the driver.

"I have tried to call the company but they have said I can only accept their apologies and they won't tell me who the driver was. I asked for his badge number which would’ve been in his car but they would not give it to me. I am so angry," said Ibbotson to Metro UK. Dana added that the driver drove slowly and did not take the quickest route even though she was pleading with him from the backseat. 

What should have been the best day of their lives turned into a harrowing and shocking experience. They will never be able to remember the day without the cab driver's outrageous behavior Dana had to tolerate. 

She had been home with her sister when she went into labor. They immediately called the Roadrunners taxi firm to get to St James’ Hospital in Leeds. Ibbotson, also 23, had been on a fishing trip with friends when it happened. When he heard the news he rushed to the hospital and reached in time for the birth of his child. 

References: 

https://metro.co.uk/2019/07/21/taxi-driver-fines-pregnant-woman-started-giving-birth-car-10434765/

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/9544442/pregnant-fined-taxi-waters-broke/