Courtney Rubin

Cabbie Fired For Taking Dying Man to Hospital

Metropolitan Cab of Detroit says its cars aren't to be used as ambulances and the driver should have minded his own business.

After his heroic act, cab driver Brandon Smith was fired. Why? His bosses claimed that cabs aren't to be used for ambulances and he should have minded his own business.

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After his heroic act, cab driver Brandon Smith was fired. Why? His bosses claimed that cabs aren't to be used for ambulances and he should have minded his own business.

 

A Detroit taxi driver was fired for doing what he believed was the right thing – taking a man who'd been beaten up to the hospital.

While working for Metropolitan Cab, a small Detroit taxi service, driver Brandon Smith saw a man being assaulted. When the attackers fled the scene, Smith jumped out of his cab and gave the man CPR, according to Detroit's ABC affiliate, WXYZ News.

Smith called 911 but got no response, so he carried the man – Jason Anuszkiewicz – to his cab and took him to the hospital. Anuszkiewicz did not survive, though his family thanked Smith for his help.

When Smith returned to work the next morning his bosses told him to hand over his keys – his services were no longer needed. Why? Cabs aren't to be used for ambulances and he should have minded his own business. (For another story of workers fired for heroics, click here.)

Metropolitan confirmed to WXYZ News that Smith had been told he should have waited for the paramedics.

Asked by the TV station why a driver who was trying to save a man should be fired, Smith's supervisor said he could have his job back – but Smith has said no thanks.

Do you think Smith should have been fired for what he did? Why?

Inc. contributing editor Courtney Rubin was for five years a London-based staff writer for People magazine. Rubin, a former senior writer for Washingtonian magazine, has written for the New York Times magazine, Time, Marie Claire, and other publications. She is the author of The Weight-Loss Diaries.