THE last person to see Axel Rudabukana before he allegedly knifed three children to death is “traumatised” after dropping him off in his taxi.
Southport cabbie Gary Poland took the accused 18-year-old on a journey in his cab shortly before he is said to have stormed the Hart Space Community Centre to launch a vicious stabbing spree last Monday.
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A GoFundMe page for the veteran taxi driver, 55, has since raised more than £2,50” after forensic cops took his brand-new car.
Yesterday the beloved driver’s wife Lynn said he was “devastated” by the attack and “feels responsible”.
She added: “He’s unable to talk about it at the moment.
“He feels terrible.
“All he’s thinking about is what happened to those children.”
Neighbours described Gary as a “lovely person” who was always willing to help.
One woman, who declined to be named, said: “During Covid, he pushed a note through the door saying, ‘We are here if you need us.’
“It was just in case we needed to go anywhere – he was offering to take us in his taxi.”
The neighbour added that Gary “shouldn’t feel guilty” because he “didn’t know what sort of person he was picking up that day”.
She added: “He would have the first to tackle the attacker or alert the police.”
Pals have rallied around the hero driver to raise vital cash as he cannot work while police retain and examine his car.
A message on the page posted by pal Liam Rice said: “Gary is a local taxi driver and has been working in Southport for many years.
“On Monday, 29th July, he picked up a customer who changed everything for Southport.
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“I won’t mention the customer’s name because he doesn’t deserve to have it repeated.
“We lost three angels that day, and many more were injured.
“Gary, like all of us, is very shocked and upset by what happened.
“Because he dropped that person off, the police have seized his vehicle for forensics.
“They cannot give him a release date for the vehicle, but from experience, this process can take anywhere from three weeks to six months or even a year.
“Once the car is released, he will have to pay the impound fees to retrieve it.
“He is quite traumatized by what happened and, like everyone involved that day, he thinks he could have done more.
“However, no one could have known what was going to happen, so he couldn’t have done anything differently.”
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