Video: Driver drags 78-year-old woman out of Access-A-Ride car
Video shows Access-A-Ride driver allegedly assaulting elderly passenger
A shocking video taken by a Good Samaritan shows the driver of an Access-A-Ride car in Brooklyn apparently assaulting an elderly passenger in Brooklyn.
NEW YORK – Police are investigating after the driver of an Access-A-Ride car in Brooklyn apparently assaulted an elderly passenger.
The incident was caught on camera by Ezra Halawani, who began recording the argument between the pair with his phone.
According to Halawani, the victim, a 78-year-old woman, told him that the driver was supposed to take her to a physical therapy appointment near East 35th Street and Flatlands Avenue in Midwood, but the driver stopped the car at a different location.
"She asked him if he could circle the block and drop her off in front and from what she's said, that's when he got upset and decided to drag her out of the car," Halawani told FOX 5 NY.
"Call the police!" the woman can be heard yelling in the video as Halawani approaches the pair. "He got my phone!"
“I think if it was really any woman or any person, defenseless getting dragged out of a car, I think anybody would have done the same thing, really.” Ezra Halawani
According to Halawani, when he went to confront the car's driver, things turned potentially violent.
"He hit me, caused me to fall into his good and fall over, and he got away," Halawani said.
Halawani suffered injuries to his shoulder, hand, and left hip. Both he and the woman were treated at a nearby hospital and released.
The New York Federation of Taxi Driers identified the driver as Mohamed Ahmed Elsakran and issued a statement condemning his behavior. The Taxi and Limousine Commission has issued a statement saying they're aware of the incident and cooperating with police.
The Federation of Taxi Drivers also said that if the TLC revokes his driving privileges, they would support such an action.