Passenger Drives Away In Taxi After Fight With Driver

Police said Dorothy Elliott, 38, a driver for Old Army Taxi Service, dropped off a passenger in the parking lot of a convenience store near the intersection of

Camden and Cumberland roads

.

The assailant walked away from the vehicle and was approached a short time later by Elliott regarding his payment for the taxi service, investigators said.

"She ran the guy down, and she got him to walk back across the street with her," said Mark Moore, a witness to the incident.

The two got into an argument and the passenger jumped in the taxi and drove away, dragging Elliott across the parking lot as she was attempted to pull him from the vehicle, according to police.

Elliott was freed from the vehicle, and the suspect drove away.

"All she could say was she was on fire," said witness Wanda Naylor. "She had some very bad, bad injuries."

The assailant was last seen on Southern Avenue driving toward Owen Drive. Police found the vehicle, a dark green Dodge Caravan with tinted windows with the words "Old Army Taxi" on the outside, abandoned a few blocks away at a mobile-home park.

Elliott was taken to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, where she was underwent surgery Tuesday afternoon for her injuries. The extent of those injuries, however, was not immediately known, but police said she was expected to live.

Authorities are looking for a white, heavy-set white man wearing green shorts who might not be wearing a shirt.

Anyone with information about the incident should contact the Fayetteville Police Department at

910-433-1885

or

911

.