Toronto cab driver saluted for good deed

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A cab driver went an extra mile for Pan Am athlete and is now being recognized by Toronto police for his golden-hearted act of kindness.

John Strickland has been a Toronto taxi driver for more than 35 years. At last, it is his turn to stand in the spotlight after he returned a lost wallet to a Cuban athlete.

“Strickland deserves a gold medal for his honesty,” Toronto Det. Sgt. Ian McArthur said in a statement released yesterday. “He is a true ambassador of our city.”

According to the police statement, Strickland picked up Dailenys Alcantara Pacheco, a track and field athlete, who recently competed in the triple jump, from the Walmart at Gerrard Square.

The 23-year-old was heading towards the Athletes Village. Upon arriving, the Cuban athlete paid her fare, gathered her belongings and left the cab. But unfortunately, she left one personal item behind.

Thankfully, it didn’t take long for Pacheco to realize that her wallet was missing, which contained all of her identification and “a significant sum of cash.”

She approached a nearby police officer for help, and with the assistance of a Spanish-language translator, the officer was able to determine only the description of the taxi cab, which happened to be silver.

At this point, the possibility of identifying the cab and recovering the wallet was very slim.

But just a few minutes later, the very same sliver taxi returned to the village. Strickland handed the wallet with all of its contents still inside to the Pan Am athlete, proving that kindness goes a long way.