June 12, 2006
Taxi Ride from Hell Kills Passenger, Injures Others
A cab carrying a group of friends early Sunday morning crashed into a building, causing one passenger to be thrown from the car and then fatally hit by an oncoming cab. The accident claimed the life of Danielle Ricco, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, as the cab headed south on the West Side Highway. The cab's other passengers claim the driver, Hassan Afzal, was trying to scare them by driving quickly, after they had complained about the loud music. Afzal lost control around West Houston Street, and ended up crashing into 340 West Street. That's when Ricco was thrown from the car, and another cab that was trying to avoid the crash ended up hitting her. Her friends say Ricco was actually trying to climb out of the car.
Emergency workers had to remove the cab's roof to retrieve Afzal and the other three passengers from the car. Police are investigating the claims made about Afzal, who is at Belleve in serious condition. And it's unclear whether the cab's passengers were wearing seatbelts, but the NY Times points out that if a customer asks a cab driver to turn down music, the driver is supposed to comply. The Taxi and Limousine Commission's Taxi Rider Bill of Rights.
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They should bring back those buckle up messages. Better yet, just buckle up yourself. After being in a taxi accident because the schmucky driver was on his goddamn cell phone, I always snap in now.
I don\'t think you can make a left onto Houston there as it\'s one-way. Maybe it was a block north?
Good point, Amy - an earlier report I read said that the driver was making a left, but now it seems like he lost control around West Houston.
Bellevue is spelled wrong
I\'m going to save this link and send it to people who insist that taking a cab is \"safer\" than taking the train late at night. As far as I\'m concerned, it\'s a crapshoot either way.
Um...
How was she climbing out of a moving cab? And where was she going to go if they were on the highway?
Cabbie needs to be brought up on charges though. I find it funny with so many lives at stake in and out of the car, NYC cabbies seem to have an invisible shield that allows them to drive like they are in Mad Max.
They were trying the Tuck and Roll escape technique
the one used by Lois and Meg during Spring Break
Did he fall asleep or loose control. stories are conflicting. the dailynews online edition said he fell asleep
I am good friends with two of the girls and know the girl that died. This is a terrible tragedy and I would appreciate it if you would not equate it with an episode of Family Guy.
These girls\' lives are ruined because of a NYC cab driver. He should be put up on manslaughter charges, and the TLC should be sued for millions.
Cab safety is a serious issue and should be taken as just that. I hope they find that bastard, and I hope he gets what he deserves.
Dear Valeriob,
The cab driver is in the hospital, according to the article, so finding him is easy.
This is a tragedy, and let this be a lesson, if a driver is acting in a hostile manner, ask him/her, very calmly, to pull over, pay the fare, and get in another cab or, better yet, take the train!
*...and the TLC should be sued for millions.\"
and suing the TLC for millions will bring back the deceased? no.
suing the insurance company of the TLC will bring back the deceased? no.
Suing the TLC, while a great idea, will come with road blocks as well. Why were the passengers not wearing their seatbelts? Well for one, seatbelts for occupants over 16 or 18 years of age are not mandatory and not law. However, common sense prevails.
Cabs drivers are usually insane drivers, they want a quick tunrover to get the next fare. Cab drivers themselves, by law, are not required to wear seat belts. When you get into the cab, it\'s under your own discretion to buckle up or not, personally I always do.
Turning down the music is one thing, driving like an idiot (which most of them do) is another, and falling asleep at the wheel is also not good, but before you lynch the driver, lets get all the facts...
while a few cab drivers are nice decent people, the majority that i have experienced are the opposite. i admit i have a serious grudge against cabbies, and have been in a similar situation where the cab driver wouldn\'t let me and my girlfriend out after refusing to take directions. we asks nicely at first but he refused. it wasn\'t until i started yelling like a maniac at him that he got scared and stopped. i felt like i was going to have to grab his throat from behind, no kidding. cabbies like that should be jailed for a long long time. this one deserves even worse.
angry: while i couldn\'t agree with you more in regards to the decency of some cab drivers compared to the majority of bad-person drivers, perhaps the facts and a full investigation should be conducted before \"we\" lynch the driver.
my best friend just lost her friend and has another in critical condition. She has been friends with one of the girls who was in the accident since her freshamn year at PACE. What I got from her she got from the girls parents and that was that the cab driver was driving like that on purpose to scare them. I do NOT believe that bringing charges up on the cab driver is in anyway "lynching him" w/o knowing the facts. A girls life was taken away and other destroyed because they asked him nicley to turn down his music. Think how you would feel if it was your friend. The company should be sued and not to bring back the deceased but b/c I know for a fact the other girls are going to need intensive physical and emotional therapy which costs a great deal of money.
Whether the girls asked the cab driver to turn the music down or not gives him absolutely no reason or excuse to drive like a lunatic. He is the driver and is responsible for what happens to his passengers while they are in his car. He should be punished to the fullest extent.