- When she refused to pay the amount she considered too high, the driver threatened to take her back to where she had first flagged him down
- At this point, she reportedly opened the taxi door and jumped out while it was travelling at speed
A woman died of severe head injuries after jumping out of a moving taxi during an argument about a £3.30 fare in Colombia.
Maria del Carmen Cardenas Matanza, who was in her 30s, thought the cabbie was overcharging her for the ride, prompting her to leap from the vehicle.
The incident took place in Alameda del Rio, in the district Norte-Centro Historico of the city of Barranquilla, in Colombia’s northern department of Atlantico, on July 26, with the injured woman passing away in hospital on Sunday, August 6.
According to reports, the driver and passenger began arguing about the fare.
When she refused to pay the amount she considered too high, the driver threatened to take her back to where she had first flagged him down.
At this point, she reportedly opened the taxi door and jumped out while it was travelling at speed.
Maria bashed her head on the road in the fall, causing her serious head injuries, according to local media.
She was then rushed to a nearby hospital, where she died after 11 days in intensive care.
According to the police, it was the taxi driver who took her to the hospital where shed died 11 days later.
The fare that Maria and the taxi driver had argued about was just 17,000 Colombian Pesos, or £3.31, according to local reports.
Colombian newspaper El Heraldo quoted a spokesperson for the transport police as saying that Maria jumped out of the rear door.
‘He picked her up at Carrera 51B with Calle 82, in the Torcoroma building,’ they said, recounting the events to reporters.
The Colombian police are investigating in order to determine who is responsible for the young woman’s death.
