What was supposed to be a routine cab ride home from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport turned into a nightmare on the highway, according to a Fort Lauderdale family riding with their two young children.
The parents say a payment dispute spiraled out of control when their taxi driver refused to let them out or pull over, even as he slowed and drove erratically with their 8- and 10-year-old in the back seat. Video the family shared shows them pleading with the driver after he claimed his credit-card reader was not working, despite a sign in the cab stating it accepts major cards, as reported by WSVN. “You’re going to kill us!” the mother yells in the footage as she calls 911.
The family says the ordeal dragged on for more than 20 minutes before the driver finally left the highway. On the 911 call, dispatchers told them they had already passed Pine Island, and the driver then took the next exit and dropped the family at a nearby Marathon gas station. There, Davie Police officers and Florida Highway Patrol troopers met them and ultimately allowed everyone to go their own way, according to WSVN. The family later filed a police report with the Florida Highway Patrol. In a statement to 7News, the airport’s transportation management company said it “has suspended this taxicab driver from operating at FLL and will refer the matter to Broward County’s Consumer Affairs Division for further investigation.”
How the airport handles taxis
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport maintains a Ground Transportation Office that oversees taxi stands, dispatch locations and posted fare information for arriving passengers. For details on how taxis are routed and regulated at the airport, see the Broward County Aviation Department.
What the law says
Florida law defines false imprisonment to include “forcibly, by threat, or secretly confining, abducting, imprisoning, or restraining another person without lawful authority and against her or his will” (Florida Statutes, Chapter 787). Depending on what investigators find, prosecutors could consider whether the driver’s actions meet the elements of false imprisonment or related criminal and traffic offenses.
The Guetarni family says they want officials to conduct a full review. The airport says it has already suspended the driver’s ability to operate at FLL and referred the complaint for further investigation. Investigators with the Florida Highway Patrol and Davie Police were listed as the agencies handling the family’s report.
