WIS News 10 - Columbia, South Carolina | Passengers shoot taxi driver, found lying in ditch

Passengers shoot taxi driver, found lying in ditch

By Logan Smith - email

NEWBERRY, SC (WIS) - The family of a Newberry County taxi driver shot by his passengers and found lying in a ditch says he is in serious but stable condition.

But while severe weather is often blamed for deaths and injuries, this time a storm is actually credited with saving the man's life.

"He's holding his own, doctors tell us it's gonna be along road from here on out," said Irene Davis, the driver's aunt.

The driver, whom family and co-workers identify as 23-year-old Macedonia "Mase" Gallman, picked up two men on Smith Road near Newberry Academy at around 11pm Monday. The two men reportedly asked Gallman to take them to the Belfast Road area in northwestern Newberry County.

"It was just Mase's turn to pick someone up," said C&C Commute owner Willie Cromer, who is Gallman's boss. "It could have been any of the three of us."

When Gallman did not report in, the taxi dispatcher called the sheriff's office to be on the lookout for the taxi.

Newberry County Deputy Rusty Fullmer was in the Mudlick Road area near Chappells helping to remove a tree knocked down by a thunderstorm.

"I was just doing my job," said Fullmer.

Fullmer was driving down Highway 56 when he saw Gallman's cab pass by him.

He didn't think much of the cab he saw driving down the road, but minutes later got a call that a cab driver was missing.

He drove back to that area and saw Gallman in the ditch.

"When I saw him he actually waived, he threw his arm up to make sure I saw him," said Fullmer.

It may have been just in time to save his life.

"He was going in and out of consciousness," said Fullmer. "He did tell me he had two children and I told him to keep thinking of his children."

Fullmer stayed with Gallman for 20 minutes until an ambulance arrived.

"I was holding his hand the whole time," said Fullmer.

"It was good police work, but it was also a bit of a stroke of luck," said Newberry County Sheriff Lee Foster, who said that if trees hadn't been knocked down that night, the driver likely wouldn't have been found until morning.

As another deputy was responding to the area as backup, he saw an empty C&C taxi in a ditch near the intersection of Belfast Road and Belmont Church Road.

Bloodhounds were called to the scene, but couldn't pick up the suspects' scent. Investigators collected forensic evidence from the two crime scenes, and Foster says that's about all they have to go on at this point. 

Gallman was airlifted to Palmetto Health Richland Memorial Hospital, and his family says he is in serious but stable condition. Friends and co-workers say Gallman is liked by everyone, and often works extra hours to support his family.

"He is so hard-working and dependable," says Cromer. "If you ask him to do something he just jumps up and does it."

"He loved that job, it was all he talked about," said Gallman's aunt. "He loved to drive."

The suspects are described as two males, one wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans and the other wearing a multi-colored baseball type cap.

In the map below, you can see C&C Commute (Point A), where the taxi originated, Smith Road near Newberry Academy (Point B), where the passengers were picked up, Highway 56 and Mudlick Road (Point C), where the driver was found, and Belfast Road and Belmont Church Road (Point D), where the taxi was found.

Note that the route shown from point to point is for reference only, and may not be the actual route traveled by the taxi and suspects.

C&C Commute is offering a $1000 reward for any information leading to an arrest in the case. Anyone with information should call Crimestoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC.

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