Driver Struggles To Recover From Emergency Surgery Following Queens Shooting
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A livery driver is struggling to recover from emergency surgery to remove a bullet from his brain after being shot in the head while on the job in Astoria, Queens early Friday morning.
Roberto Castillo, 37, remains in critical condition at Elmhurst Hospital, with his mother and sister by his side after flying up from Miami, CBS2's Ilana Gold reported.
The suspect is yet to be found, as police continue their investigation to identify the shooter.
Castillo took four men to the club and was sitting outside when the group got into a quarrel with someone and gunfire erupted, according to police sources. Investigators said the men got into the cab and someone else shot at the vehicle, hitting Castillo, who was driving the vehicle, in the head.
Critically injured and bleeding from the head, Castillo tried to drive away but slammed his black SUV into a utility pole three blocks away on 35th Street and 37th Avenue.
Police believe the shooter was actually targeting one of Castillo's four passengers.
"They came out and I think that's actually when the shooting happened -- around the corner over here the people were leaving. And that's really when it got serious," Randolph Gunzer, a neighbor, said.
Fernando Mateo, a spokesperson for many of the livery drivers in the city, said Castillo made his living as a driver, but was not licensed. According to Mateo, Castillo's SUV was not registered with the Taxi and Limousine Commission.
"We're hoping that he's going to pull through, but we don't know at this point," Mateo said."If it would have been a licensed TLC driver he would have been in the same condition that he's in."
Police are now talking to the four passengers and are searching through the club's surveillance videos for clues that will lead to the suspect.
The NYPD is asking anyone with information on the incident to contact authorities.