‘Real Rich’ faced death determined to take would-be killers with him
Arequest for a “turnoff” from a male passenger who wanted to be taken off the established route to a “fortune teller” in Ackee Walk, St Andrew, from Chancery Street, was enough for 42year-old taxi driver Colin Shirley to become suspicious.
In fact, he was certain that there was no astrological and palm-reading service provided in Ackee Walk.
Shirley, who operates the Half-way-tree to Chancery Street route, told the Jamaica Observer that after loading his taxi with four passengers from the St Andrew capital to take them to the expected destination, things took an ugly turn.
“When I stopped at Price Rite [Chancery Street], and let off three passengers, the one that was left in the car told me that he wanted to go to the guru people dem who tell the future and read palms ’round Ackee Walk side. So I said, ‘Where ’round Ackee walk side they have people like that?’,” said Shirley.
“At the same time, one of the other passengers who was coming out the vehicle ask me where I was going, so I tell him that I going down the street [Ackee Walk] and him say, ‘Can you drop me down there?’ and mi seh, ‘No problem’ and him jump back in the car,” added Shirley who is popularly known as Real Rich.
He said he took the first left turn from Chancery Street to start the journey to Ackee Walk.
“When we were going down there, I told him that I really don’t know that place and I asked him, ‘What number you going?’ And him seh a random number like 18 and from him say 18 mi seh nobody nuh live down there so because me know 18,” said Shirley.
That was the time he finally realised that the two male passengers were planning to rob him. Seconds later there was a gun pointed at him.
“The guy in the back put a gun at my neck back and tell mi seh fi stop the car. The next guy in the passenger seat started to go in my pocket and draw for my phone, so mi box weh him hand dem and mi say to miself, ‘You know seh mi a go kill off everybody.’ Mi just start squeeze the pedal, man. I was going straight into the back of a Flow van that was parked. The one in the passenger seat weh did a tek out mi things them, wrap the steering, cause him si seh me did ago inna the van— him si seh a crash mi did ago crash the vehicle,” added Shirley.
After a few minutes of back and forth action with the man in the passenger seat, Shirley decided to make a sudden stop.
“The vehicle a shoot down the road then mi decide fi brake up inna the four-way intersection right at the entrance to Ackee Walk, and the man dem jump out the car,” he said.
Shirley’s bravery and effort to remain calm throughout the situation saved him from what could have been a worse ending in the incident that happened almost four years ago.
“Mi nah lie, mi hold me composure and decided that if mi ago go, dem ago come wid mi, enuh. Yeah mon, serious ting. Fret? Dem cuda shoot me but that wasn’t the thought at the moment. I didn’t care, I decided that I was going to kill everybody,” declared Shirley.