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A man socked a cabbie in the face — knocking him out and severely damaging his left eye — during a pick-up in the Bronx last week, cops and a union official said.
Livery driver Carlos Infante, 61, went to pick up a couple on Webster Avenue near East Gun Hill Road in Norwood just before 6 a.m. Thursday, but they were arguing when he arrived, according to police and Fernando Mateo, president of the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers.
At some point, the woman jumped into the car, but Infante requested that she get out, according to Mateo.
Then the woman’s male companion flew into a rage and punched him in the face and right eye — knocking him unconscious, according to cops and the union official.
Infante was also robbed of $600, Mateo said, citing the family. Police could not officially confirm the robbery.
When Infante regained consciousness, he called 911 and drove himself to Bronx Lebanon Hospital, the union head added.
“He’s been in the hospital since Thursday waiting for surgery to reconstruct his left eye socket,” Mateo said.
The driver’s sister, Angela Infante, told News 12 Sunday that her brother had been a cab driver for 24 years and was the breadwinner of his family.
“Aggression is not the way to manifest what you think,” Angela said in Spanish, according to the station. “That’s no solution to anything, let alone when attacking someone innocent.”
No arrests had been made by Monday.
The man who allegedly punched Infante is around 45 years old, 5-foot-8 and 180 pounds with dreadlocks, cops said.
The New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers is offering a $3,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest.
“We’re hoping these two individuals get picked up and not freed on bail reform,” Mateo said.
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