NYC livery cab driver recounts near-death experience after passenger tried to rob him
A livery cab driver suffered a terrifying brush with death early Monday morning, as he was shot in the face during an argument with a passenger in Brooklyn.
The NYPD says the man got out of the cab, opened fire, and then tried to rob him.
Incredibly, the victim managed get away and drive himself to the hospital. He is expected to be okay, but the suspect remains on the loose.
"I ain't supposed to be alive"
Prince Ezenekwe walked into a room full of cameras with a bloody bandage on his right cheek, concealing a row of stitches that represented the aftermath of him staring down the barrel of a gun.
"My case of survival, I take it as a miracle," Ezenekwe said. "I ain't supposed to be speaking to you right now. I ain't supposed to be alive."
Police say at around 1:30 a.m. Ezenekwe picked up a masked rider in Canarsie. Not long after, the rider asked him to turn around, claiming he forgot something.
Little did Ezenekwe know, it was a setup, an armed robbery attempt in the making.
After a short argument about turning back, the rider erupted.
"Unfortunately, the guy got upset, got out of the car, pulled out a gun, and told him that he was going to rob him and kill him," said Fernando Mateo, president of the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers.
Quick thinking likely saved the driver's life
"Now, when he steps out of the car he says, 'I will have to kill you and took everything that you have,'" Ezenekwe said. "What I saw was the gun pointing straight at my head, at point blank."
A quick slam on the gas and a tilt of the head is what saved Ezenekwe's life, as the bullet missed a major artery by an inch and only grazed his cheek.
The Nigerian-American husband and father of three called the ordeal terrifying, while the masked man who pulled the trigger remains on the run.
The New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers is offer a $5,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest.
"Unfortunately, it tear my skin and all of this was stitched. But like I said, I'm the luckiest man alive. I'm the luckiest man alive, so, like I said, I can't complain," Ezenekwe said.
Anyone with any information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or via DM on Twitter, @NYPDTips. All calls are kept confidential.
