There is now a $15,000 reward 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 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 stop around 6:20 a.m. and the five passengers flee from the back seat, police sources said.
Gyimah grabbed one of them and restrained them, but the rest of the suspects returned and began beating the driver, the video shows, 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. According to sources, he fell to the ground backwards and hit his head on the pavement. He was never seen moving again, they said.
“These killers 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] it was working,” said Fernando Mateo, a spokesman for the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers, which announced the reward Saturday afternoon.
The New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers is offering $15,000 for any information about the suspects who beat taxi driver Kutin Gyimah to death. Michael Dalton The murdered taxi driver Kutin Gyimah. family photo
The married Gyimah, of the Bronx, leaves behind four children, ages 3.5, 7 and 8, said Mateo, who spent about two hours with the family Saturday.
The grieving family “wasn’t good” Saturday afternoon, said Mateo, who is scheduled to hold a press conference with Gyimah’s relatives and “a sea of yellow taxi drivers” on Sunday.
A GoFundMe for Gyimah’s widow and children has already raised about $19,000.
“This is a poor working man, how can you leave the house and NOT come back, this is outrageous. We’re angry, we’re in disbelief, we want justice,” Mateo said, adding that he spoke with NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell and “he assured us that the NYPD will find those responsible.”
Security footage shows the suspects fleeing from the taxi’s minivan. Michael Dalton
The last crime-related death of a yellow cab driver occurred in July 2019, when a cab driver was hit by his own vehicle in the Bronx after a passenger stole his backpack and the driver took off in pursuit of 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 Council spokesman called Gyimah’s killing not only devastating, but also unacceptable. … We extend our deepest condolences to the victim’s family, friends and co-workers during this painful time and will work diligently to bring all those responsible to justice.”
Cops who responded to the scene found Gyimah lying in the road with “trauma to the back of the head,” the NYPD said. A small pool of blood was visible on the sidewalk, sources said. Gyimah was pronounced dead at Sant Joan Hospital an hour after the attack.
A group of three men and two women allegedly assaulted Kutin Gyimah in an attempt to rob him. Michael Dalton Gyimah and his wife Abigail. family photo
“A lot of bad things like this happen here,” said Abdul Sharhan, who has worked at the deli across the street from the crime scene for a decade.
Security footage from the Block Winery Deli across the street shows the convicted cab driver getting up. Seconds later, three people are seen running from the site west toward Beach Channel Drive. No arrests have been made.
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 thefts rose 15%; Carjackings rose 18 percent and the number of shooting victims jumped 29 percent, NYPD data show.
“The world is crazy, man, and it’s happening everywhere,” said a regular customer at the nearby deli. “People are shot on the train and robbed, killed, cut. It’s the wild, wild west out here.”
Additional reporting by Jesse O’Neill