It’s not uncommon for taxi drivers to kill their passengers or pedestrians in a crash and get off scot-free, without even a suspension to their licenses. On the Upper West Side, a local community board is fighting that status quo. At a meeting this week, CB7’s Transportation Committee unanimously resolved that “any driver who kills or severely injures a pedestrian while violating traffic regulations should at least have his or her license permanently revoked,” according to DNAinfo.
The resolution comes after the death of Cooper Stock, a nine-year-old boy who was killed when cabbie Koffi Komlani didn’t yield at a crosswalk. Komlani wasn’t charged with a crime and is still licensed to drive his cab.
“I’m really stunned by how many [cab]drivers who’ve killed people are still driving,” Andrew Albert of the transportation committee said. “Someone who is a cab driver, who does this for a living, they have to be beyond reproach.”
Of course, real change on the issue would require action from bodies more powerful than a community board. The Taxi and Limo Commission and Department of Transportation declined to comment on DNAinfo‘s story.
(Photo: Nicole Romagna)
