A man is in the hospital with a fractured skull and broken leg after a cab driver allegedly drove into him and his friends—after the driver refused to drive them to the Bronx. The group had hailed a cab in Midtown Manhattan and one of the friends said, "I told the taxi driver, 'to the Bronx.' He lets us in, and then we go in, and he says, 'I'm only taking you two blocks.'" After arguing with the customers, who insisted it was the law that the driver agree to take them to the Bronx, the cab driver said they should all go to the local police precinct. And guess what: The cops said the customers were right and the driver had to take them to the Bronx. At that point, the cab driver become even more unhappy.
According to the Daily News, Mohammed Azam "jumped back into his cab and drove at the four friends, now on the street, hitting three of them, and then fled." One of the men, Anthony Loreto Jr., jumped on the hood ("because he didn't want to get run over," says his father) and was then thrown from the cab when Azam made a sharp turn. Friend Frank Lembo was also on the hood but survived the wild ride. And another friend, Joe Hladki, was amazed that it went so far: "I said we all have cash on us, even credit cards and everything, we're not going nowhere. "He was like, 'Oh, I'm not going to make no money on this.' I told him, we're going to the Bronx, we'll give you a good tip, just get us home."
City Councilman James Vacca (D-Bronx), who heads the Council's Transportation Committee, said, "First and foremost, my prayers are with Anthony and his family. This tragedy underscores a systemic problem in the yellow taxi industry. I am tired of hearing about cab drivers who refuse to leave Manhattan when passengers are entitled by law to a ride anywhere in the five boroughs. Service refusal is a problem that has defied solution for too long, and this is truly the straw that broke the camel's back. I am urging anyone and everyone who is refused a trip to record the date, time, driver name and medallion number and promptly report it to 311 or NYC.gov/taxi. And I am calling on the Taxi and Limousine Commission to discipline each and every cab driver who thinks he or she can choose which laws to obey and which not to obey, even if that means revoking licenses for repeat offenders. A tragedy like what occurred Saturday night should never be permitted to happen again."
The TLC is currently considering raising the fines for hacks who refuse fares. Right now drivers who refuses a fare gets a fine of $200-$350 for their first offense, $350-500 for the second (with a possible 30-day suspension) and if they get three offenses within 36 months they flat out lose their license.
