Metro

Cabby accused of ramming Bronx-bound passengers acquitted of attempted murder

A cabby accused of ramming his taxi into two would-be passengers rather than drive them from Midtown to The Bronx was acquitted today of attempting to murder them.

Mohammed Azam, 29, was convicted only of a single count of reckless assault and another count of leaving the scene of an accident in the bizarre hit-and-run cabbie-rage case.

Azam was immediately cuffed and taken into custody after the verdict. He faces a mandatory minimum of two and a half years prison on the assault conviction, but dodged a threatened sentencing range of five to 25 years prison on the attempted murder.

Jurors had heard more a week of testimony, and had visibly chuckled and rolled their eyes when Azam took the stand to insist that the two fares had “jumped” on his hood and then had simply rolled off — all without his stepping on the gas pedal.

One of the men, Anthony Loreto, Jr., had smashed his head on the pavement of West 54th Street with such force, that he had to be put in a medically induced coma to treat his cracked skull and bruised brain.

But evidence had also shown that the victims had been drinking and had argued forcefully about being driven home to The Bronx. Azam was only going about 10 to 15 miles per hour when he struck them, the evidence had shown.

“Look, this is a case that is a near tragedy if not a tragedy on both sides,” said Azam’s lawyer, Gary Sunden. “The injury to Mr. Loreto was horrendous. But on the other hand, this is a situation Mr. Azam did not create and never wanted,” the lawyer said.

Azam had declined to take the men to the Bronx because it was less than a half hour before the end of his 12-hour shift; returning his cab late to his boss’s Queens taxi depot would have resulted in fines and points against his license, he had told jurors.

“It’s a very sad case,” the lawyer said. “It really is. This is a good person,” he said of Azam, who had been saving to complete his final semester toward a medical degree at a college in Aruba. “A decent person.”