African American attacker on the lam.
By The American Bazaar Staff
NEW YORK: A Pakistani American cabbie in New York City is recovering from a severe beating he received earlier this week, when one of his fares went into a fit of violent rage against him after finding out his country of origin.
Mohammad Ali Fahd picked up the fare, a young African American man, on Monday night, for a trip uptown from Second Avenue, reports the New York Daily News. Fahd and his passenger struck up a conversation, during which Fahd’s nationality came up somehow.
When Fahd (36) revealed that he is originally from Pakistan, the passenger allegedly went into a hysterical rage, beating on the partition between the front seat and the back of the cab. The row distracted Fahd so much that he accidentally hit a pothole, although this apparently did not injure either of the two men in the cab.
To assess the damage, Fahd pulled into a British Petroleum gas station at 23rd St. and Avenue C. It was when Fahd got out to look around the cab that the passenger also emerged, taking the skateboard that he had with him and using it to beat Fahd violently.
A passing ambulance driver saw what was happening and was able to chase away the perpetrator, who is still on the lam. Fahd was then rushed to a nearby hospital, and is now recovering from a fractured nose, several cuts and bruises, and swelling over his left eye that is so bad, he can’t even open it, and may even suffer permanent damage to his vision.
Fahd, a father of two young children, told local media that he hopes the police are able to catch the perpetrator, but they have little to go on. The New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA) has filed a case on Fahd’s behalf, urging that the skateboarder be brought to justice. Fahd told the New York Daily News that he believes had there not been any intervention, the man would probably have killed him.
The NYTWA is also working on a bill that would seek harsher penalties against individuals who attack, maim, or kill cab drivers in the city. It would also install stickers in each and every cab throughout New York City, warning would-be criminals that attacks on cabbies are subject to 25 years behind bars.
The man is said to have been about 5’11†tall, of average build, and was wearing a white sweatshirt. Police have not disclosed whether or not alcohol may have played a factor, nor whether this will be treated as a hate crime due to the attack apparently being instigated solely by the fact that Fahd is from Pakistan.