The taxi driver is giving his own version of the incident with a car rental company employee in Paros, following which he was fired.

The taxi driver claims that he was not the one who attacked first, alleging that the employee insulted and shouted at him and then struck him with the helmet he was holding. “He was swearing, shouting and hit me with the helmet he was holding,” he said while speaking to Alpha.

Asked whether the other man attacked him first, he replied: “Well, of course, I mean, was I going to attack him first? I didn’t want to because of my position as well. I’m there every day, you know?”

Watch video of the taxi driver’s statements:

What he claims about the taxi stand

According to the driver, tensions had already been building over the previous period regarding the use of the taxi stand area.

As he claims, only taxis, police vehicles and ambulances are allowed to enter the particular location. However, he alleges that the employee of the nearby car rental company frequently used the area for the company’s vehicles and those of its customers.

“That’s a taxi stand, as you have understood, and only either a police vehicle, an ambulance or a taxi can enter. Nothing else,” he said.

According to him, the employee “would put ATVs inside” and ask the company’s customers to park there in order to collect the vehicles they had rented, resulting in problems for taxi parking.

The driver also claimed that the presence of the vehicles in the area led other tourists to believe that they were allowed to park there as well.

At the same time, he described the employee as “very argumentative” and “very provocative,” claiming that problems had also arisen in the past when other drivers tried to speak to him about the issue: “Anyone who has gone and spoken to him nicely is met with a very argumentative, very provocative attitude, and he always creates a problem.”

“Of course I regret it”

The taxi driver expressed regret over the footage that was recorded, acknowledging that the incident creates a negative image both for Paros and for professional taxi drivers.

“Of course I am sorry that this happened. It is a very bad image for the island, for taxis and for everything overall. This incident is not nice at all,” he said.

“I certainly didn’t want to get into a physical fight with an elderly man. Of course I regret it, but from that point on, you should know that he attacked me first, both verbally and with his hand and with the helmet he was holding. He hit me first and brought me to this point,” he added.

The timeline of the incident

The incident took place on Thursday at the taxi stand in Paros. According to reports, the confrontation was sparked by the employee parking an ATV belonging to the car rental company in a spot that, according to the taxi drivers, is reserved exclusively for their vehicles.

In footage of the incident, the two men can be seen exchanging harsh insults. The taxi driver then appears to move toward the employee, grab him by the neck and throw him onto the ATV.

The same footage also shows the employee striking the taxi driver with the helmet he is holding in his hands.

The altercation ended after other people who were at the scene intervened and separated the two men.

Following the publication of the incident, the taxi driver’s employer announced that he had fired him, stating that their working relationship had ended.