13-year-old girl charged in connection with fatal beating of NYC cab driver
A 13-year-old girl has been arrested in connection with the fatal assault of a cab driver in New York City earlier this month, police said.
Yellow taxi driver Kutin Gyimah, 52, was driving occupants in the Rockaways area in the borough of Queens on Aug. 13 when the passengers allegedly attempted to skip out on the fare.
Gyimah tried to chase the passengers and “was struck by one or more of the suspects," the New York City Police Department said. He fell on the ground, hit his head and lost consciousness, police said.
Officers responded to the scene of the assault at the corner of Beach 54 Street and Arverne Boulevard just before 6:30 a.m. and found Gyimah lying on the ground on the roadway, suffering trauma to the back of his head, police said. He was transported to St. John’s Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The 13-year-old girl, who has not been identified because she is a minor, was arrested Tuesday in connection with the incident and charged with gang assault and theft of service.
She is the fourth suspect to be arrested in the case, along with another 15-year-old girl hit with the same charges.
Last week, Austin Amos, 20, of Queens, was arrested and hit with charges of manslaughter, gang assault, assault and theft of services. Nickolas Porter, 20, of Queens, was also charged with gang assault and theft of services in connection with the attack.
Lawyer information for the group was not immediately available.
Police are searching for a fifth suspect — a 15-year-old girl, law enforcement officials said to NBC New York.
Gyimah was from the Bronx and his grieving family is demanding justice in his death.
"He loved his job so God was blessing him until that fateful day,” his widow Abigail Barwuah said in a press conference Thursday. “My husband was a good man...He was everything we had, he was my children’s hero.”
She called for the suspects to turn themselves in during the press conference, which took place before two of the girls were arrested.
