Woman hailing cab in Manhattan sexually assaulted by driver
A woman who hailed what she thought was a cab in Washington Heights was taken on an unwanted ride to Queens, where the driver pulled a knife and groped her, cops said Wednesday.
Police released a sketch of the suspect in the early morning sex attack.
The 33-year-old victim tried to hail a cab on the corner of W. 184th St. and St. Nicholas Ave. at about 4:45 a.m. Sunday when a gray Volkswagen SUV stopped for her, cops said.
The driver asked where she was headed, and she said she was going to Brooklyn.
But he took a detour from the directions on his GPS, and 40 minutes later, they wound up instead at Yellowstone Blvd. and 62nd Rd. in Forest Hills, Queens.
That’s when the driver pulled out a knife and grabbed her groin, cops said. She ran out of the SUV before he had a chance to stab or slash her, and the driver sped off, cops said.
She suffered minor injuries to her hands and feet and went to Elmhurst Hospital in stable condition, cops said.
Police describe the suspect as white or Hispanic, between 40 and 50 years old, wearing a black jacket and black pants. Cops couldn’t say if the SUV had Taxi and Limousine Commission plates.
Cops ask anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS.
