There’s now a $15,000 reward out for information leading to the arrest of those who killed a New York City taxi driver in Queens.
Kutin Gyimah, 52, died early Saturday when he chased down a group of five men and women who tried to rob him in the Rockaways, police said.
Surveillance video taken from a pole near Beach 54th Street and Arverne Boulevard showed Gyimah’s cab pulling up around 6:20 a.m. and the five passengers fleeing from the backseat, law enforcement sources said.
Gyimah caught up with one of them and held them down, but the rest of the suspects returned and began to beat the driver, the video showed, according to the sources.
After the gang assault, Gyimah stood up and was punched by a man wearing a black T-shirt and black pants with a yellow stripe. He fell to the ground backward and hit his head on the sidewalk, the footage showed, according to sources. He was not seen moving again, they said.
“These murderers must be caught and we are offering a $15,000 reward … All funeral expenses will be covered by the owners of Big Apple Taxi Fleet Management where Mr. [Gyimah] worked,” said Fernando Mateo, spokesman for the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers, who announced the reward Saturday afternoon.
The married Gyimah, from The Bronx, leaves behind four children ages 3,5, 7 and 8, said Mateo, who spent about two hours with the family on Saturday.
The grieving family was “not good” Saturday afternoon, said Mateo, who is slated to hold a news conference with Gyimah’s relatives and “a sea of yellow cab drivers” Sunday.
A GoFundMe for Gyimah’s widow and children has already raised about $19,000.
“This is a poor hardworking man, how can you leave your home and NOT return, this is outrageous. We are angry, we are in disbelief, we want justice,” Mateo said, adding he spoke to NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell and “she assured us that the NYPD will find those responsible.”
The last crime-related death of a yellow taxi driver occurred in July 2019, when a cabbie was run over by his own vehicle in the Bronx after a passenger stole his backpack, and the driver got out to chase the thief, Mateo said.
In 1997, a 65-year-old yellow cab driver was shot during an apparent robbery on the East Side, according to reports.
A City Hall spokesman called Gyimah’s killing “not only devastating, but unacceptable. … We extend our deepest condolences to the victim’s family, friends, and coworkers during this painful time and we will work diligently to bring all people responsible to justice.”
Cops responding to the scene found Gyimah lying in the road with “trauma to the back of his head,” the NYPD said. A small pool of blood was visible on the sidewalk, sources said. Gyimah was pronounced dead at St. John’s Hospital an hour after the attack.
“Bad stuff like that happens a lot around here,” said Abdul Sharhan, who’s been working at the deli across the street from the crime scene for a decade.
Security footage from the Deli from the Block bodega across the street shows the doomed taxi driver pull up. Just seconds later, three people are seen running from the site west toward Beach Channel Drive. There have been no arrests.
The incident occurred within the 101st Precinct, where major crimes are down 5% in 2022 through Aug. 7 compared to the same time last year, but burglaries are up 11%; grand larcenies climbed 15%; car thefts jumped 18% and the number of shooting victims has soared 29%, NYPD data shows.
“The world is crazy, man, and it’s happening everywhere,” said one regular customer of the nearby deli. “People are getting shot on the train and getting robbed, killed, slashed. It’s the wild, wild west out here.”
Additional reporting by Jesse O’Neill
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