UNIVERSITY CITY, Mo. — The family of injured cab driver Jason Bullock believes he is paralyzed after an altercation with a passenger and has set up a GoFundMe account to help pay for his medical expenses.
It's a situation Yevgeniy Lin knows first-hand.
A professional driver, Lin was attacked by a passenger while driving along Forest Park Parkway in March and left bleeding on the side of the road.
"When I was dying on the street my blood was flushing," Lin said. "I just got lucky because in front of me was a police officer from the WashU campus. Otherwise, the chance for me to be alive was almost zero."
Lin says the suspect, Robert Hyink, was a regular customer with Elite Transportation. but that night he began asking Lin for money, pulled out a knife, and started stabbing.
Lin has scars on his neck and damage to his hand, plus $150,000 in auto and medical bills.
"My car insurance's got no desire to pay any. My health insurance denied any request. They said I was dying, and I choose a hospital out-of-network," he explained.
Lin has been fighting for the coverage he says he deserves, with stacks of papers on a table in his basement and an appeal to officials in Jefferson City. He says he expects Bullock will face similar funding challenges.
In a GoFundMe set up after Bullock's injury along Interstate 55 Wednesday, family members said his passenger changed his mind at the last minute on where he wanted to be dropped off, and -- while on the way to the new destination -- lunged at the Laclede Cab driver and threatened his life.
During the struggle, Bullock grabbed his gun and shot the passenger and himself -- family members said -- adding that the injury severed his spinal cord, leaving him unable to move.
The passenger died in the altercation, and Bullock's family writes he is currently paralyzed.
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Lin was able to return to driving, but there are still challenges ahead.
"I am not afraid of strangers; I'm afraid of the judicial system," Lin said.
Hyink was released this spring because prosecutors didn't take the case to the grand jury within 30 days of filing initial charges, a change Lin wasn't aware of until weeks after the decision.
Charges have since been refiled -- though Lin's request for a restraining order was rejected and he would like to see stiffer penalties in cases that involve violence against professional drivers.
"It should be the same, like New York State," Lin said. "If you attack a cab driver or transportation company: 25 years jail."
Hyink is due in court again on Sept. 30. He faces several charges including robbery, assault, and armed criminal action.
Those interested in donating to Bullock's medical funds can do so on the family's GoFundMe page.