LIVERPOOL — The taxi driver who took Southport killer Axel Rudakubana to the scene of his deadly rampage has told a public inquiry he regrets not helping the terrified children who ran for their lives.
Pick-up and Journey
Gary Poland, a driver for One Call Taxis, collected Rudakubana from his home in Banks, Lancashire, on July 29.
He said the teenager gave him the Hart Street address, and the pair travelled in silence. Mr Poland admitted he had no idea Rudakubana was carrying a knife.
Fare Dispute
When they arrived, Rudakubana refused to pay. Mr Poland said he threatened to call the police but assumed the teenager had gone into the building to get money.
Minutes later, screams erupted from the Taylor Swift-themed dance class.
The Attack
Rudakubana murdered seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, six-year-old Bebe King, and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar.
Ten other children were seriously injured during the knife rampage.
Mr Poland said the screams he heard were “harrowing” and “extremely vivid.”
Witness Account
“I was in a state of complete mortal terror and shock,” he told the inquiry.
He believed he had heard gunshots and feared confronting someone armed with a weapon. Looking in his mirror, he saw “a mass huddle of children, aged around six or seven, stampeding for their lives.”
Children Fleeing
Nicholas Moss KC, counsel to the inquiry, asked if he saw children fleeing beside his taxi as he drove away.
“That’s correct,” Mr Poland admitted.
However, he insisted he did not realise anyone had been injured at that stage.
Calls to a Friend
Just a minute after leaving, Mr Poland phoned a friend, garage owner Julian Medlock. “He just f****** shot everyone, ain’t he?” he was heard saying in a transcript read to the inquiry.
Later, when told around 15 children had been stabbed, he replied: “And there’s me chasing him for a fare. I was lucky there myself, weren’t I?”
Inquiry ChallengeMr. Moss asked if he was more focused on his own luck than on the injured children.
Mr Poland responded: “I was lucky with him sitting behind me, me not knowing he had a knife on him. He could have just got me like that, but he didn’t.”
Failure to Call Police
The inquiry heard Mr Poland did not call emergency services until almost 50 minutes after the attack. Instead, he picked up another fare and returned home.
In hindsight, he admitted this was a mistake.
Regret and Responsibility
In a statement, he said, “I do think about it every day, what I should have done and how this is my fault because I drove him there.”
He added, “I should have checked on the welfare of the children and helped.”
Harrowing Memories
Mr Poland said he still hears the children’s screams in his mind.
“I regret not helping the children. Their screams were harrowing.”
He told the inquiry he believed there was a gunman and feared he would become a target.
Closing Apology
At the end of his testimony, Mr Poland expressed sorrow to the victims’ families.
“I’d just like to say I feel really sorry for the families involved,” he said.
“I know it’s never going to leave their minds for the rest of their lives.”
