NEW YORK, March 7 (UPI) -- A civil engineer was in critical condition after being struck by a New York City taxicab driven by a man who was charged with vehicular assault, police said.
Police said the victim and another man were hit by the vehicle after the operator refused to take them and two friends to the Bronx.
The driver, 27-year-old Mohammed Azam, was arrested at his home in Queens following the incident. He was charged with vehicular assault and leaving the scene of an accident, The New York Times reported Monday.
Anthony Loreto, 22, was in critical but stable condition early Monday. The second victim was in stable condition.
The men told police they hailed the cab early Sunday after a night on the town and when they got in the driver refused to take them to the Bronx.
"I told the taxi driver, 'to the Bronx.' He lets us in and then we go in and he says I'm only taking you two blocks," said Frank Lembo, one of the passengers.
The New York Daily News said the driver instead took the group to a nearby precinct house, where police told him he was obligated to drive them to their destination.
The driver then allegedly drove his cab at the men, striking two of them.
Loreto reportedly jumped on the hood to prevent being run over and was thrown off when the cab made a quick turn. He suffered a skull fracture and a broken leg.
"We can't fall apart now," said Anthony Loreto Sr., the critically injured victim's father. "We gotta be strong for him."
Joe Hladki, another passenger, said he didn't understand why the driver allegedly drove his cab at them.
"There's no money, nothing," Hladki said.
Bronx City Councilman James Vacca, chairman of the Transportation Committee, called on New Yorkers to report cabbies who refuse trips.
"Service refusal is a problem that has defied solution for too long," Vacca said.
