The cab driver who severed the leg of a young tourist last summer when he mounted a busy Midtown sidewalk will not face any criminal charges, authorities said.
Prosecutors and police failed to come up with the evidence necessary to charge Faysal Himon after he lost control of his taxi during a road rage incident with a bicyclist Aug. 20 and struck British tourist Sian Green, causing her to lose a leg.
“The Green Family is shocked by this news, and disappointed,” said the girl’s lawyer, Daniel Marchese. “The Assistant District Attorney… indicated that failure to charge was due to lack of evidence regarding the taxi cab drivers intent during the investigation phase.”
But the Manhattan DA’s offices said that after conducting an exhaustive two month investigation, there just wasn’t enough evidence to charge Himon criminally.
“In making this determination, prosecutors who are specially trained in vehicular crimes reviewed all available evidence and took into consideration relevant sections of the State’s Vehicle and Traffic Laws,” DA spokeswoman Joan Vollero said. “They conducted interviews with multiple eyewitnesses, the taxi driver, the bicyclist, and injured parties, reviewed all available video surveillance, listened to numerous 911 calls, and retrieved the taxi’s ‘black box’ data.”
Green’s attorney said the decision has not affected his client’s positive spirit and maintains that the incident was no accident, but rather, “a negligent act of calculated recklessness to which my client was the victim.”
“We will continue to aggressively pursue legal action to help remedy this tragic incident that changed Sian’s life.”
Green was walking down Sixth Avenue near Rockefeller Center enjoying a hot dog with best friend Keisha Warren on the day of the horrific accident. The girls had been in town less than 24 hours after arriving from England on their first trip to New York.
Meanwhile, Himon was engaged in a heated argument with bike messenger Kenneth Olivo, 40, as the two men aggressively tried to pass each other.
The bicyclist then cut in front of the Bangladeshi immigrant’s cab before ending up on the hood of the vehicle, causing Himon to lose control and jump the curb, authorities said, striking Green and severing her foot.
The 24-year -old victim spent six weeks in Bellevue Hospital before returning to England to continue her recovery.
Himon might have faced charges ranging anywhere from misdemeanor reckless endangerment to felony assault, but instead was slapped with a summons and briefly lost his license after the accident.
Taxi driver’s union spokesperson Fernando Mateo said in a statement that he and his group are happy about the DA’s decision not to file criminal charges while also expressing sympathy for Green.
“We are very pleased that the District Attorney recognizes Mr. Himon’s innocence, and our thoughts and prayers remain with Ms. Green and her family as she continues to recover from her injuries,” he said. “We will continue to support Mr. Himon as he moves forward from this and are willing to work with the City to make sure this tragedy does not happen to someone else.”