Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe NEW YORK, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- A kind New York cab driver went is being praised for returning a purse to a customer who left it in his taxi, officials say. Agnieszka Gerwel, 43, of Princeton, N.J., was celebrating her birthday July 23 at Radio City Music Hall when she realized she didn't have her purse, the New York Daily News reported. Advertisement "I went to a cafe nearby before the show and suddenly I realized I didn't have my purse," Gerwel said. "It was awful." Timothy Banks, Gerwel's taxi driver that evening, was just starting his break when Gerwel filed a report with an emergency telephone service about the missing purse. "I was like, 'Oh boy, here I go again,'" said Banks, adding that fares often leave belongings in his cab. "I was trying to figure out the last fare." Banks then drove back to Radio City Music Hall and asked a security guard if anyone had reported a missing purse, the newspaper said. He left his phone number at the theater and headed to his taxi garage. "There was no way for me to give it to her," said Banks. "You know they're going crazy and hysterical because they want their stuff." Advertisement Banks left the bag with a dispatcher, Shahid Ullah, who took on the task of tracking down Gerwel. "People, they leave everything you can image in a cab ... .Cellphones are left on a daily basis," Ullah said. "I take it as a challenge to see if I can find them." The amateur detective found Gerwel's credit cards and called her bank to report the missing property. The bank contacted Gerwel, which led to the reunion, Gerwel said. "I really couldn't believe it," Gerwel said. "Even in such a busy city where everyone is so concerned with their own lives, it came as a nice surprise that a stranger would care about somebody else."
