Sons of taxi driver gunned down in Franklin look to honor their father's legacy
The sons of a taxi driver who was robbed and fatally shot in the head Franklin earlier this month are looking to honor their father's legacy by continuing their education to achieve the success he envisioned for them.
But first the sons of Kofi Addo, Hubert Addo, who will be finishing his final year studying criminal justice at Kean University, and his brother Herbert, who is set to graduate next month from North Brunswick High School, are looking to lay their father to rest in his native Ghana.
Kofi Addo, 57, of North Brunswick, came to the U.S. in 2006 from Ghana with his two young sons and worked as a bus driver by day and a taxi driver by night. The expenses of returning him to Ghana are beyond what the two young men can afford on their own.
The elder son, Hubert, has launched a GoFundMe page called Help Two Sons Lay Their Father To Rest in an effort to raise $45,000 to help cover the cost of the funeral , airline travel and other related expenses. As of Sunday afternoon more than $9.500 had been raised by 232 donors.
Around 9:56 p.m. May 11, Franklin police responded to a 911 call about a shooting in the area of Rose Street and Sydney Place in the Somerset section. When officers arrived, they found Addo suffering from a gunshot wound to the head.
The taxi had come to rest after crashing into a parked vehicles in a driveway of a home on Sydney Place. Police and emergency medical personnel responded to the scene and performed life-saving measures on Addo who was transported to an area trauma center where he died.
An investigation revealed Addo drove to the area of Rose Street to pick up a fare and when he arrived, he was confronted by three teens while inside his taxi and was shot.
Earlier this week the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office announced three teens – a 14-year-old from the Somerset section and two 13-year-olds, one from Somerset and the other from New Brunswick – were arrested in connection with the robbery and fatal shooting of Addo.
The 14-year-old and the 13-year-old from New Brunswick were both charged as juveniles with murder, felony murder, conspiracy to commit murder and robbery, all first-degree crimes, as well as other robbery and weapons offenses. The other 13- year-old was charged under juvenile statutes with robbery, a first-degree crime, and conspiracy to commit robbery, the prosecutor's office said.
"Kofi Addo lived a remarkable life of humility and dedication to his two sons Hubert and Herbert Addo. Propelled by a vision that burned brightly within (to witness his two sons graduate from college) he battled through the fatigue and carried on every day with a smile," the GoFundMe page states. "He served a community of people in need of a friendly smile or a listening ear during their commute."
Hubert said his father believed in the power of education and his commitment to his sons’ success knew no bounds. On his rare days off, he would spend quality time with his sons, encouraging their dreams and nurturing their talents.
The sons said they will strive to honor their father by committing to a future he would be proud of and set in motion by the opportunities he provided.
Email: srussell@gannettnj.com
Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Sons of slain NJ taxi driver look to honor father's legacy
