taxi!

City to Cab Driver Who Destroyed Tourist’s Leg: No Big Deal, Keep Driving!

Photo: Bradd Jaffy

It’s official: The man behind the wheel during a curb-jumping crash that maimed a British tourist in Rockefeller Center this summer will not be held responsible. “We have concluded that criminal charges cannot be filed in this case,” the Manhattan District Attorney’s office announced in a statement. “We are sensitive to the trauma faced by Ms. [Sian Green] and others injured in vehicular crashes, and notified the attorneys for all parties last week of this decision.” The driver, 24-year-old Mohammed Faysal Himon, who had multiple violations on his record, is back on the road after serving a 30-day suspension.

The decision is part of a pattern in New York City: It is almost impossible for a driver to be charged criminally in accidents involving pedestrians and cyclists. (Even speeding is not enough to establish probable cause in most cases, an investigator explained.) In this case, Himon has blamed a bike messenger he was jostling with for causing the crash; the D.A. said it could not prove the driver’s intent, be it negligent or accidental.

The Green Family is shocked by this news, and disappointed,” said the family’s lawyer of the decision, but Sian, whose leg was amputated below the knee, is staying positive, citing on Instagram a video of an amputee BMX-er as inspiration.

No Charges for Cab Driver Who Hit Tourist