A livery cab driver died after he was stabbed in the eye, possibly with the metal tip of an umbrella, causing him to lose control and crash into another car in Brooklyn Thursday evening, authorities said.
Officers responded to the crash at Lott Avenue and Thomas Boyland Street in Brownsville at about 5:30 p.m. and found the driver inside a 2000 Mercury with his eye stabbed.
The driver, identified by relatives as Orji-ama Uro, was taken to Brookdale Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. There were no other injuries on the scene, according to police.
Police said it appears the driver was involved in a dispute with two passengers, a man and a woman. The suspects were seen running away from the scene after the stabbing and are being sought by police.
No weapon was recovered.
Uro's sister-in-law told NBC 4 New York he was a hard-working immigrant from Nigeria who had been driving cabs since he moved to Brooklyn 10 years ago so that he could move his three daughters and two sons to America. He had just reunited with his children, thrilled to finally get them under one roof.
"All he wanted to do was take care of his children," said Chinedum Agwu. "Make sure they eat, make sure there was a house, make sure they were just comfortable and just have the simple things of life."
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"It's a very terrible incident. Who leaves their house to hurt someone?"
The car is registered in New Jersey, but Uro last worked for a Brooklyn cab company called Freedom Car Service, police said.
The livery cab drivers' union is offering a $3,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the stabbing. Community leaders are contributing another $2,000.
