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No serious injuries as suspected carjacking of Vancouver cab ends in fiery crash

Fiery end to apparent carjacking in Vancouver

VANCOUVER — A 34-year-old Burnaby man is in custody after what Vancouver Police say was a carjacking and fiery crash.

Staff Sgt. Randy Fincham says it began at about 7:15 Tuesday night when the driver of a Black Top cab was forced from his van in downtown Vancouver, beaten and left with minor injuries as the thief sped off in the taxi.

Within minutes, Fincham says police received a report of a speeding cab in east Vancouver and another about a crash between two vehicles at a nearby intersection.

In a news release, Fincham says officers arrived to find the taxi in flames and a Good Samaritan holding a man on the ground.

Investigators believe that man had tried to hijack a second car after jumping from the crashed and burning taxi, but bystanders intervened and the 40-year-old North Vancouver woman in the second vehicle was shaken but unhurt. 

The suspect remains in custody and could face robbery charges, Fincham says in the release.

The Canadian Press