A man has been awarded a Chief Constable’s commendation after his quick actions helped to save the life of a man who was stabbed eight times.
Naveed Mubashar from Crumpsall was called to pick up two passengers from an address in Blackley.
At the end of their journey, Naveed pulled up at the side of the road, one passenger got out of the vehicle while the other stayed in the taxi to pay the fare.
Naveed noticed a car pull up behind his vehicle and saw five men get out of the car. The man who had left the taxi saw the group of men and ran off.
Things moved very fast at this point and before Naveed knew it, one of the men ran to his vehicle and stabbed his passenger who fell back onto the seat. He was stabbed a further seven times in both his arms and legs.
Naveed said: “As soon as I saw the car and five men get out, I knew something bad was going to happen. I just didn’t know what to do, I couldn’t get out of my vehicle, I didn’t want to get hurt, he could easily have stabbed me too.
“I shouted ‘stop it, you’ve done it now, leave him alone’ – he eventually stopped and ran off with the rest of the group after the other man who had been in my taxi.
“I realised that I needed to get the man to hospital as soon as possible, I knew there was no time to call for an ambulance, it would have taken too long, he was losing so much blood. I kept him talking the whole time, I didn’t want him to lose consciousness but by the time we got to the hospital, he had passed out.”
About 15 minutes later, Naveed saw the other man who had been chased by the group arrive at the hospital in an ambulance.
Naveed waited for three hours at the hospital and assisted the police with their investigations, including giving up his vehicle for forensic tests.
Naveed added: “I am a tough guy, but to go through something like this, it doesn’t matter how tough you are, it affects you. It’s always in the back of my mind that I was so close to this man, I was inches away from him, I could have been next.
“I had a few weeks off to recover, but I’m back at work now and I’m doing fine. The whole thing has definitely left a mark on my brain, I won’t ever forget it.”
Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said: “Naveed was put in such a difficult position, wanting to help his injured passenger but at the same time not wanting to put himself in danger, there is no knowing how a situation like this is going to turn out, thank goodness he wasn’t injured too.
“Naveed’s actions helped to save this man’s life, not many people would have kept their calm the way he did. Well done Naveed.”
Unfortunately no victims were willing to support the police and no persons were arrested for this crime.
