Watch CBS News

Attack On Cab Driver In Quincy Investigated As Possible Hate Crime

QUINCY (CBS) - Three men in Quincy are being sought on possible civil rights violations after a cab driver was assaulted in the early morning hours March 1.

The driver, who doesn't want his identity revealed, said he answered the call to pick up the men outside the Alba restaurant in Quincy Center. As they headed to their destination on Hudson Street, he says they began to question his accent as Palestinian.

"I'm Jewish, I'm from Israel," he told them. "Oh you're a Jew. The Americans give money to Jews, you like it they give you money," they allegedly said to him. "I said, 'listen, they don't give me nothing. I work for my living,'" he said.

WBZ-TV's Beth Germano reports

The driver believes it's a hate crime, saying they attacked him as they were paying a seven dollar fare with a credit card. One passenger in the backseat, he says, opened the rear door and came to the front of the cab."When I turned around to see why he opened the door he gave me a punch on the face," he says.

Then, he says, the two other passengers started striking his head. He lost a front tooth in the assault, and has head and neck injuries. The driver says he was finally able to step on the gas with one of the passengers still inside, but that man jumped out when the cab came to a stop at a red light as the driver tried to make his way to the Quincy Police station.

He's convinced it's a hate crime saying the men knew exactly what they were doing. "It happened to me because I'm Jewish. I don't deserve something like this from somebody coming at one or two in the morning trying to make a living," he said.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Rod Fritz reports

Podcast

He believes he can help police identify the men because he still has their credit card number and the name on the card.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.