Help Strathroy CabbieTerror Victim
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I am a close friend of Terry Duffield and have watched him suffer through a horrific event. Terry is the innocent cab driver who was made a victim of terror by the deranged Aaron Driver's suicide bomb plot on Wednesday, August 10, 2016.
I'm asking everyone to join together and show our support for a guy who was put in harm's way by a suicide bomber, was badly injured and now is worried about supporting himself. Terry didn't deserve any of what happened to him.
I'm seeking funds to give to Terry to pay his bills, buy his medications, get counselling, and repair his life that was shattered that day in a terrorist bomb blast. Terry has no funds and needs money immediately just to survive.
Terry is, for now, unable to work. He has been prescribed medications for his pain and the post traumatic stress symptoms associated with the explosion and gunfire that suddenly erupted around him. He has to pay for those medicines himself. There is no government or other agency stepping in to support him - or to pay his bills and put food on his table.
We ask that you please contribute what you can to help Terry through this.
On August 10, Terry had started his day much like any other day in his 3 years of driving a taxi in Strathroy, Ontario. At 4:30 that day, he had a call - pre-arranged earlier that day- to pick up a passenger on Park Street and deliver him to London Ontario.
The police were already aware that his fare, an ISIS associated terrorist was planning to kill large numbers of Canadians in a bomb plot . The Toronto Transit Commission, Railways and other entities outside of Strathroy were put on alert of a threat. However, nobody had informed the local taxi company - the logical and habitual means of transport the terrorist had used regularly in the past. Had the authorities asked, they would have known that Aaron Driver, had called the taxi company that morning and arranged to be picked up at 4:30 and driven to London. Maybe a plain clothes police officer could have taken the wheel. Instead, Terry drove to the house knowing nothing about what was about to happen.
The house on Park Street was staked out. There were police officers and SWAT teams coordinated by the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team surrounding the place. Nobody stopped Terry on his way to, or once he had arrived at the house on Park Street. He sat in the driveway waiting for his fare for almost 5 minutes. He filled out some paperwork. He had no warning of the danger he was in.
With no police intervention, the terrorist walked out of his house carrying a black backpack. He came down the steps, walked in front of Terry's car, down the side of the car, and got into the rear seat on the passenger's side. Terry and the terrorist had a conversation about going to the Galleria in London. The terrorist pre-paid the fare. Terry put the money in his money pouch. He then put the car into reverse and began backing down the driveway.
It was at this point that Terry heard someone shout "STOP". He thought maybe someone had been walking a dog down the sidewalk and he was about to hit it, so he stopped. He put the car in park. Then he saw in his rearview mirror, a swarm of police in SWAT gear with guns drawn. He said to his passenger "I think they've come to talk to you". He still had no idea of what this was all about.
Terry was going to get out of the car so the police could talk to his passenger. He leaned across the front bench seat to grab his cigarettes. At that point, his head and upper body went below the seat back. That's what saved Terry's life - because at that point the terrorist detonated one of the bombs he had with him.
The car and Terry were rocked from the explosion. The cab filled with smoke and ash and shrapnel. Terry was hurt, but thankfully wasn't killed. His arms have a rash of lacerations from debris, his left torso marked with cuts and his back has been injured to the extent that 6 Percocets a day do not take away the pain he is in. He was in shock - literally terrorized.
Terry lay turtled for a minute on the front seat, shocked and uncertain what was going on and what was going to happen next. Then Terry propelled himself from the cab, face first into the gravel outside the car. There he met a phalanx of guns and police shouting.
While laying on the ground outside his cab, Terry heard one police officer yell "He's still twitching!". Then he heard a series of gunshots. The terrorist was dead at the back of Terry's car.
Terry followed police commands and crawled away from his vehicle to safety.
Terry remains in shock. His mind just won't quit racing. He can't sleep. He relives the experience over and over again. He knows how close he came to dying that day and he's wrestling with those thoughts every waking moment.
He tried working two days later. He went so far as to get in a cab and turn the key. Then he broke out in a sweat, started shaking, got out of the cab and vomitted. Not surprisingly, Terry has been diagnosed with a classic case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and is now medicated and seeking help in dealing with it. He can't return to work.
On top of that, he's worried about how he will pay his rent, his car payments and his other bills - how he will put food on his table and what life is going to be like after this. There's no predicting when, if ever, Terry will be able to work again.
We know that Strathroy, the London Region, the province of Ontario, and all of Canada are full of generous people, willing to pitch in when a fellow citizen needs a helping hand.
Will you please contribute to Terry's recovery by making whatever financial contribution you can?
Thank you.
I'm asking everyone to join together and show our support for a guy who was put in harm's way by a suicide bomber, was badly injured and now is worried about supporting himself. Terry didn't deserve any of what happened to him.
I'm seeking funds to give to Terry to pay his bills, buy his medications, get counselling, and repair his life that was shattered that day in a terrorist bomb blast. Terry has no funds and needs money immediately just to survive.
Terry is, for now, unable to work. He has been prescribed medications for his pain and the post traumatic stress symptoms associated with the explosion and gunfire that suddenly erupted around him. He has to pay for those medicines himself. There is no government or other agency stepping in to support him - or to pay his bills and put food on his table.
We ask that you please contribute what you can to help Terry through this.
On August 10, Terry had started his day much like any other day in his 3 years of driving a taxi in Strathroy, Ontario. At 4:30 that day, he had a call - pre-arranged earlier that day- to pick up a passenger on Park Street and deliver him to London Ontario.
The police were already aware that his fare, an ISIS associated terrorist was planning to kill large numbers of Canadians in a bomb plot . The Toronto Transit Commission, Railways and other entities outside of Strathroy were put on alert of a threat. However, nobody had informed the local taxi company - the logical and habitual means of transport the terrorist had used regularly in the past. Had the authorities asked, they would have known that Aaron Driver, had called the taxi company that morning and arranged to be picked up at 4:30 and driven to London. Maybe a plain clothes police officer could have taken the wheel. Instead, Terry drove to the house knowing nothing about what was about to happen.
The house on Park Street was staked out. There were police officers and SWAT teams coordinated by the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team surrounding the place. Nobody stopped Terry on his way to, or once he had arrived at the house on Park Street. He sat in the driveway waiting for his fare for almost 5 minutes. He filled out some paperwork. He had no warning of the danger he was in.
With no police intervention, the terrorist walked out of his house carrying a black backpack. He came down the steps, walked in front of Terry's car, down the side of the car, and got into the rear seat on the passenger's side. Terry and the terrorist had a conversation about going to the Galleria in London. The terrorist pre-paid the fare. Terry put the money in his money pouch. He then put the car into reverse and began backing down the driveway.
It was at this point that Terry heard someone shout "STOP". He thought maybe someone had been walking a dog down the sidewalk and he was about to hit it, so he stopped. He put the car in park. Then he saw in his rearview mirror, a swarm of police in SWAT gear with guns drawn. He said to his passenger "I think they've come to talk to you". He still had no idea of what this was all about.
Terry was going to get out of the car so the police could talk to his passenger. He leaned across the front bench seat to grab his cigarettes. At that point, his head and upper body went below the seat back. That's what saved Terry's life - because at that point the terrorist detonated one of the bombs he had with him.
The car and Terry were rocked from the explosion. The cab filled with smoke and ash and shrapnel. Terry was hurt, but thankfully wasn't killed. His arms have a rash of lacerations from debris, his left torso marked with cuts and his back has been injured to the extent that 6 Percocets a day do not take away the pain he is in. He was in shock - literally terrorized.
Terry lay turtled for a minute on the front seat, shocked and uncertain what was going on and what was going to happen next. Then Terry propelled himself from the cab, face first into the gravel outside the car. There he met a phalanx of guns and police shouting.
While laying on the ground outside his cab, Terry heard one police officer yell "He's still twitching!". Then he heard a series of gunshots. The terrorist was dead at the back of Terry's car.
Terry followed police commands and crawled away from his vehicle to safety.
Terry remains in shock. His mind just won't quit racing. He can't sleep. He relives the experience over and over again. He knows how close he came to dying that day and he's wrestling with those thoughts every waking moment.
He tried working two days later. He went so far as to get in a cab and turn the key. Then he broke out in a sweat, started shaking, got out of the cab and vomitted. Not surprisingly, Terry has been diagnosed with a classic case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and is now medicated and seeking help in dealing with it. He can't return to work.
On top of that, he's worried about how he will pay his rent, his car payments and his other bills - how he will put food on his table and what life is going to be like after this. There's no predicting when, if ever, Terry will be able to work again.
We know that Strathroy, the London Region, the province of Ontario, and all of Canada are full of generous people, willing to pitch in when a fellow citizen needs a helping hand.
Will you please contribute to Terry's recovery by making whatever financial contribution you can?
Thank you.
Organizer
Marianne Dieckmann
Organizer
Strathroy, ON
