NYC taxi driver dies after being ‘knocked to ground’ by passengers who fled without paying

 Kutin Gyimah (Kutin Gyimah's Family via CBS News)

New Yorkers rallied in support of an immigrant taxi driver who died Saturday in an attack by passengers who refused to pay their fares.

According to the New York City Police Department (NYPD), the 52-year-old father of his four children from Ghana, Kuthingima, was found dead near Rockaway Beach in New York City around 6:20 a.m. with his five children. dropped a group of ) take him away. .

The former accountant tried to chase them, but one of them simply knocked him to the ground, breaking his skull and knocking him unconscious.

He was then found lying on the pavement near the playground with trauma to the back of his head and was pronounced dead at St. John's Hospital. The NYPD is investigating his death as a homicide. On Sunday, the New York Taxi Drivers Federation announced a $15,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest of the attacker, but a GoFundMe created by colleague Spyros Drakos for Gyimah's family. Page had raised over $50,000 by Sunday afternoon.

Ghima's widow, Abigail Barwa, said at a press conference this morning that she needed justice because her husband did not deserve to die like this, and she was said to have cried.

"He wasn't resting during the pandemic. He was working. He was a good, good guy. He was my backbone."

Ms. Bawer showed up with her two older children, ages 7 and 8, who were also crying, and more than a dozen friends, relatives and other taxi drivers. Gyimah's best friend, Samuel Ayebi, described how he met Gyimah at the airport when he arrived in the United States 18 years ago and introduced him to the taxi business.

NYPD commissioner Keechant Sewell said: “Kutin Gyimah was the victim of a senseless attack in Queens near Beach 54th St. and Arverne Blvd. As his loved ones mourn, Kutin is in the thoughts of the NYPD detectives who are working hard to apprehend those responsible." A spokesperson for the city government said: " This tragedy is not only devastating, but unacceptable.... we extend our deepest condolences to the victim`s family, friends, and coworkers during this painful time and we will work diligently to bring all people responsible to justice."

According to The New York Post, security footage from a nearby shop shows Gyimah chasing after the group of three men and two women after they scrambled out of his car's back seat

The Post reported that Gyimah caught up to them and held one of them down, before being beaten by the other four. He stood up, then was punched by one of the men and fell backwards.

Rev Samuel Arhin, a priest at the Ghana United Methodist Church where Gyimah workshipped, called him "a loving and caring gentleman – hardworking", telling CBS News: "We've really lost a dedicated father."

On his GoFundMe page, Mr Drakos described how Gyimah had continued doggedly ferrying passengers during the pandemic, saying: "This to me is a hero, like the first responders. If a doctor, a nurse, someone, or a family member needed to go somewhere, he would drive a cab and never stop."

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