Three and a half weeks after being attacked, Uber driver Mohamad Al-Gahaffi remains in critical condition at Weill Cornell Hospital.
The New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers and the Yemeni American Merchants Association gathered outside the hospital Sunday.
“Mohamad has laid in a coma here for quite some time, 25 days in a coma,” said Fernando Mateo, a member of the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers. “We are very upset. We are angry. We are pissed off that a brutal beating like this could take place in the city of New York.”
Police say 54-year-old Al-Gahaffi picked up six passengers from Queens during the early morning hours of February 55. During the ride, a passenger was drinking alcohol and became unruly.
Al-Gahaffi asked the passenger to stop drinking and when the van reached the intersection of East 62 and 2nd Avenue around 4:30 in the morning, police say the loud passenger jumped out. Al-Gahaffi stopped the van and got out. That’s when he was attacked, according to police.
Surveillance video shows the moments when the attack happened, but it’s not clear whether the driver is visible here.
Now, police are trying to track down these passengers to speak with them about the assault. Police believe that the person who landed the harmful blow to Al-Gahaffi’s head was seen in a blue shirt and dreadlocks.
Whatever happened to him, he doesn’t deserve it because he’s been a great man to a lot of people,” Al-Gahaffi’s nephew told NY1.
The Federation of Taxi Drivers and Yemini American Merchants Association are offering $5,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction.
Al-Gahaffi continues to recover in the hospital with a fractured skull, receiving visits from local friends and family, while his 21-year-old daughter remains in Ethiopia. He has regained consciousness, but is unable to speak.
“We are devastated by this news and our hearts go out to the driver, his family and the driver community in New York City during this difficult time,” a spokesperson from Uber said in a statement. “We banned the rider from the app when we became aware of the incident. Uber has a Law Enforcement Operations Team dedicated to assisting law enforcement on their investigations.”