Taxi driver is forced to be the getaway man

OGDEN (AP) — Police said it was more like a plot for a movie than real life when a taxi cab driver was forced to be the getaway car for a man who allegedly robbed a bank in Salt Lake City.

The hunt ended Wednesday, hours later and 30 miles north in Ogden, after the suspect bailed out of the Yellow Cab and was arrested by waiting police.

It was a case of everyone doing his job perfectly, Salt Lake City police detective Kevin Joiner said.

The teller gave police a good description of the robber. Detectives were quick to get to the scene to interview witnesses. The cab driver remained calm.

Yellow Cab driver Ali Ahmed originally didn't know the customer in his cab was wanted, but that changed when Ahmed got a cell phone call from a police detective.

"I was very scared," Ahmed later said. "Oh, man, was I scared."

His fears escalated when the suspect allegedly told him "he would empty his gun" if Ahmed turned him in to police.

"I just pulled over and I told him, 'Hurry up and get out of here if you want to get away.' " he said.

"There was an officer right by there, so I ran over and told him which way the guy went," Ahmed said.

Donald Archambault, 53, was charged Thursday with aggravated robbery.

And while Ahmed might have gone home a hero, it still wasn't an entirely happy ending for him: he got stuck with the $98.50 cab fare.