A petit taxi driver was forced to drive straight into a protective wall along the Casablanca corniche on Friday around 2 a.m. to avoid being attacked by "clients" and robbed of his belongings, police sources indicate.

The vehicle smashed through the wall for nearly five metres to end its course and come to a stop below the road, very close to the rocks of this part of the Casablanca coast.

The driver, who suffered a head injury, was evacuated to the Moulay Youssef prefectural hospital (Casablanca Anfa) where he underwent a scan to determine the severity of his injuries before being admitted to the intensive care unit for observation.

Stitches were applied to his head and he also suffers from a fracture of the left collarbone, hospital sources indicated.

Two of his "clients", slightly injured with only a few scratches, were taken by the police for the purposes of the investigation.

A third "passenger", who allegedly tried to grab the driver by the throat, according to the latter's testimony, managed to flee just after the accident.