Carjacked Cabby: We Drive in Fear

The cabby who was carjacked before his taxi was taken on a joyride and crashed in Union Square over the weekend says the suspect seemed "unstable."

Muhammed Latif spoke to reporters Monday after the ordeal over the weekend. He says cab drivers leave for work every day fearing for their safety.

"Every single day when we go to work, we think about coming back home safe or not," he said.

Police arrested Michael Findley on Sunday, accusing him of attacking Latif after the driver had picked him up in the Bowery.

Latif was reluctant to pick up Findley because the man had a bag of food in his hands and he feared a mess, but the 31-year-old suspect assured the cabby he wouldn't eat in the car,accordint to  the Daily News. But, according to the paper, Findley began eating and spilled rice in the car.

Latif said Monday he asked Findley to get out and not bother to pay.

"I came around to open door for him and he suddenly came out and started beating me," Latif said.
"He seemed unstable and he was not in good shape."

Findley is then accused of taking off in the cab. According to the News, he took off, driving the wrong way on a one-way street.

The road rampage ended when Findley smashed head-on into a utility pole at East 14th Street and Union Square West 20 minutes after the dangerous drive began.

Findley suffered minor injuries and was at Bellevue hospital Monday. 

Findley faces several charges, including driving while impaired by alcohol, grand larceny, reckless endangerment, as well as a host of traffic violations. 

Findley could not be reached for comment. He was expected to be arraigned later this week, and the Manhattan district attorney did not immediately say whether he had a lawyer.

Findley has been collared more than a dozen times in the Big Apple. He has 15 arrests in the city in the last four years, including one for skipping out on a taxi fare, a police source told the News.

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