Fare stiffs cabbies on Detroit-D.C. trip

DETROIT, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- A trio of Detroit cab drivers say they took it pretty well after being stiffed by a passenger who asked them to drive him to Washington.

Passenger Anthony Nguyen didn't make it to the capital either. He was arrested in Maryland after he allegedly tried to ditch the drivers during a pit stop.

"We take the chance. We got played," admitted one of the cabbies, who asked the Detroit Free Press not to identify him.

The newspaper said Wednesday that Nguyen hailed a cab at the train station in Detroit on Christmas Eve and promised the driver he would pay him $1,600 for a lift to Washington. The driver agreed and called a husband and wife who are also cabbies to help him with the drive.

To make a long story short, Nguyen bolted at a gas station in Montgomery County, just outside Washington. He was quickly arrested by county police who locked up Nguyen on an outstanding Pennsylvania warrant and then collected $60 to help with the trip back to Motown.

And it wasn't a total loss, the unidentified driver said.

"I enjoyed driving up through Pennsylvania, the mountains," he said.