Cabbie Says He's Lucky to be Alive

Choked, Stabbed and Beaten by Rider

By David Greene

BRONX, NEW YORK, AUGUST 6- An unidentified livery taxi driver is lucky to be alive after a near-fatal daylight attack that began on a bustling street in Fordham. And an angry crowd that witnessed the incident may have prevented the assailants get-a-way.

According to officials, police were called to Bainbridge Avenue and E. 195 Street at just after 7 p.m. on August 4, when officers from the 52nd Precinct discovered the victim had been stabbed in the neck and chest.

Speaking on the incident, NYPD spokesman Detective Martin Speechley, explained, "The cab driver picked up the perp who asked to be driven there and upon their arrival, the perp decided to choke, stab and beat the cab driver."

Details of what happened next remain sketchy as the police spokesman went on to say that the wounded cab driver exited the vehicle and the suspect, "jumps into the driver's seat of the car and hits a retaining wall."

However, some residents of the block say that many in the crowd estimated at 100, who were on the street at the time of the incident, say some in the crowd tossed rocks at the taxi as the thief attempted to make his get-a-way.

The thief and would-be carjacker abandoned the vehicle and fled around the corner, where he jumped a fence on Marion Avenue, where he was eventually captured by police.

Police have charged 22-year old Luis Ferrierra with felony assault and robbery. Police also noted that this was Ferrierra's eighth arrest in 2013, averaging one arrest per month.

Ferrierra's previous charges of arrest for 2013 have included assault, theft, larceny, criminal trespass and escape.

One long-time resident of the area stated, "This area is flooded with crack and crime and I think the residents are fed up with it already."

The driver who works for The Option Transportation Company on Ogden Avenue was said to be in serious but stable condition at St. Barnabas Hospital, but was expected to make a complete recovery.