A photo taken Wednesday night in the 1500 block of 12th St. W.(Submitte)

By Nigel Maxwell

Public safety

Taxi cab thief unable to outrun GPS

Apr 15, 2021 | 5:29 PM

A 27-year-old woman, accused of taking a Prince Albert taxi for a joyride, neglected to consider the advantages of technology.

The theft occurred Wednesday night, outside the Checker/ Family Taxi office on 10th St. W. Owner Pardeep Kumar told paNOW the driver was sitting in the car, when a woman hopped in the front passenger side. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, passengers are only allowed to sit in the back seat and there are signs posted on the vehicles.

“The driver told her you cannot be in the front seat,” Kumar explained, adding the driver also advised the woman he was going on a break and she should take the next taxi. The driver then got out and went around to the opposite side of the car, to let the woman out.

“She locked the doors and she ran away with the car,” Kumar said.

All the taxis come equipped with GPS and so Kumar explained after calling police, they were able to track the car’s movements west on River Street before eventually coming to a stop in the 1500 block of 12th St. W. The woman was arrested soon after without incident.

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Kumar explained the driver was not hurt and to the best of his knowledge, the vehicle was not damaged. He also explained that he tells all his drivers never to leave a vehicle running with the keys in the ignition.

“If you are going out for 30 secs, take the keys with you and lock it,” he said.

The suspect, Francine Jean Ballantyne (McCallum), appeared in court Thursday morning on charges of vehicle theft and failure to stop for police. She was remanded to Friday for a bail hearing.

According to court records, Ballantyne has a total of 15 other outstanding charges including court breaches, gun related offences, assault and robbery.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell