An assault on a For-Hire Vehicle (FHV) driver in Manhattan left the victim with serious injuries and put him in a coma. The family of 54-year-old driver Mohamed Al-Gahaffi released a photo of the victim in his hospital bed, in the hopes that an arrest will be made and there will be justice for the vicious attack.
The brutal beating that cracked Al-Gahaffi’s skull and left bleeding on his brain happened on Feb. 5 at 4:30am. Surveillance video shows the immediate aftermath, with men who had been part of a group inside Al-Gahaffi’s vehicle. The attack itself was just out of camera range.
The NYPD released a photo of the man police said attacked Al-Gahaffi. Police said the main suspect was drinking alcohol in the back of the vehicle and did not like being told to stop. Police also put out photos of four others they say were along for the ride from Woodside to Manhattan’s East 62nd Street. Photos and video can be viewed here: https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2020/03/01/uber-driver-injured-in-violent-upper-east-side-attack-identified/.
The New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers and the Yemeni American Merchants Association announced a $5,000 reward for information. Additional groups are setting up funds to offset the cost of what will be long-term medical care.
Industry experts say any driver of FHVs should use cameras to monitor the back seat and panic buttons to summon help when rides, like this one, go wrong.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-8477 or for Spanish, 1-888-577-4782. Tips can also be sent to the NYPDTips Twitter account or submitted online at NYPDCrimeStoppers.com.
Source: CBS New York
