Woman’s horror 450metre taxi journey to a McDonald’s ends up costing her $1,500

A 450metre taxi ride to McDonald’s has turned into a financial nightmare, costing a woman $1,500. 

Rikki Jean Ripeka Rowland, 37, was drunk with a friend on July 5 when she caught a taxi to drive her to a McDonald’s which was only a six minute walk away.

Rowland, a nurse, and her friend caught the taxi from the Octagon to the McDonald’s on George Street in Dunedin, on New Zealand’s South Island. 

A drunken woman and her friend called a taxi to drive her to a McDonald’s 450 metres down the road. 

Within a few short minutes in the ride, Rowland vomited inside the vehicle.

The furious cab driver demanded the two get out of the taxi as he used the flashlight on his phone to bring them to the attention of the vomit. 

Rowland reacted by grabbing the driver’s phone out of his hand, walking out of the taxi and throwing it on the ground, damaging the device.

The case was taken to the Dunedin District Court.

The damage to the phone cost nearly $1,300 while the cleaning of the taxi cost $250, the court heard. 

‘That’s a cheap job … I wouldn’t have [cleaned] it for that amount,’ said Judge Kevin Phillips. 

Defence Counsel Val Farrow contended Rowland was going through personal stressful struggles at the time when the incident occurred. 

While the judge condemned the nurse’s actions, he said Rowland’s drunken behaviour was a way to relieve her stress, which could have been the only rational reason. 

Rowland was held in high regard with letters favouring the nurse from a lawyer, counsellor and doctor.

Rowland was convicted for her drunken acts and was ordered to pay the reparation by the judge.  

The woman caught a taxi from the Octagon to the McDonald's 450 metres down the road. 

The woman caught a taxi from the Octagon to the McDonald’s 450 metres down the road. 

 

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