Uber driver Scott Cabrie, cabbie Bryan Hodgkinson, suffered horror fates in Wide Bay

When an ‘ordinary family man’ driving a taxi in regional Qld was beaten and stabbed to death in the 1980s, the issue of driver safety was thrust into the spotlight, but more than 30 years later, families are still sick with worry at the lack of safety.

Doris and Jodie Hillier (centre) are distressed that more than 30 years since the brutal murder of their brother and uncle Bryan Hodgkinson (left), drivers such as Scott Cabrie (right) are still being targeted by violent criminals.

Bryan Hodgkinson was the sort of taxi driver passengers loved; the kind of man who kept a bag of sweets in the car just in case parents needed a hand in cheering up a crying child.

If passengers couldn’t afford a fare, he’d let them pay later.

The well-liked photographer had purchased his own cab after getting out of the cafe business, and passengers adored him for his kindness and outgoing personality.

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But just 18 months after starting his new job, on September 8, 1987, Bryan’s severely injured body was found beside a rural road in Goodwood, 30km south of Bundaberg.

He had been viciously assaulted, stabbed and bludgeoned.

Bryan Hodgkinson was a keen photographer and a beloved Bundaberg photographer from a well-known family.

A 2018 inquest into the death referred to 47-year-old Mr Hodgkinson as someone who had no enemies, as “an ordinary family man working a number of jobs”.

According to documents resulting from an inquest hearing in the Bundaberg Magistrates Court in 2018, it was revealed Gary Rasmussen, a man “prone to extreme violence with a quick temper”, had been listed as a person of interest during the inquest, but died of an illicit drug overdose in 1993.

He had previously been convicted of crimes including manslaughter.

One theory noted at the inquest was that Mr Hodgkinson’s cab was hailed at a taxi rank and he was asked to drive out of town.

The theory continued that once Mr Hodgkinson realised he was under attack he ran for his life, but the assailant caught up with him, brutally attacking his head with a rock and stabbing him numerous times as he lay on his back.

Another theory, according to the inquest, was that another person, a convicted killer and rapist, might have carried out the crime. But that person argued in court that he was not in Bundaberg at the time Mr Hodgkinson was killed.

To this day, nobody has ever been charged for Mr Hodgkinson‘s murder.

Fraser Coast Uber driver Scott Cabrie also suffered a horrifying death at the age of 47 while doing his job.

The case bears some similarities to what police believe happened to Hervey Bay Uber driver Scott Cabrie.

Mr Cabrie was also on a job at the time of his murder, had collected multiple passengers and had run for his life on a country road before being stabbed and left behind.

Police believe Mr Cabrie was forced into the boot of his Nissan X-Trail before managing to escape and then being chased down and stabbed.

Two male teenagers who have no connection to Rasmussen have been charged with his murder.

For Mr Hodgkinson’s sister Doris Hillier and her daughter Jodie Hillier, the heartbreak and frustration at the lack of laws to protect drivers is heartbreaking.

To see another beloved driver lose his life in violent circumstances is almost unbearable - they know what Mr Cabrie’s family is suffering. It’s a feeling that has not left them in more than three decades.

“We know what they’re going through and not alone,” Doris said.

“We’re thinking of them.

“This has all got to stop, the laws have got to change.”

Doris believes Gary Rasmussen was the man who killed her brother, and what her brother went through is something she still thinks about every day.

Doris Hillier and Jodie Hillier have not forgotten their brother and uncle who was stabbed to death while on the job as a taxi driver more than three decades ago.

“I just feel for (Mr Cabrie),” she said. “He was the same age as Bryan.”

“Bryan was a huge people person, he absolutely loved talking with people.”

Doris still can’t understand why drivers are not better protected with barriers and locking systems that would allow them to lock violent passengers in the back of the car and drive them to a police station.

“What they need to do, they need to have a bullet-proof cage around the drivers,” she said.

Jodie questions why dividers were removed in cabs and said any vehicle with a driver for hire should come with a panic button that could alert police immediately.

Her concern is that right now, violent thugs know drivers have “zero” protection.

“At one stage taxis had the perspex between them and the back seat,” she said.

“(Drivers) shouldn’t have to worry about their safety going about their job.”

The Hilliers also want to see tougher penalties for thugs who commit violent acts, and say that if young offenders are committing heinous crimes they should be dealt with legally as adults.

Doris says young, violent offenders are getting let off with the “slap of a lettuce leaf”.

“If they want to play big boy games, put them in jail with the big boys,” she said.

“It makes you wonder where it’s going to end.”

On Tuesday, the TWU and Rideshare Drivers Unions called on the federal government to introduce better laws to protect drivers and urged companies to adopt rules in order for drivers to not have to serve problematic passengers.