Taxi Driver Online

Passenger Kills Taxi Driver With Own Cab

CHICAGO (CBS 2) The family of a taxi driver repeatedly run over by his own cab was grieving the loss of a man they described as "very sweet and caring" Friday morning.

Haroon Paryani, 61, was killed early Friday after an argument over cab fare prompted a passenger to physically attack Paryani and run him over repeatedly with his own cab.

The suspect apparently fled the scene after hailing another taxi. Police are hoping another cab driver might provide some clues.

Paryani's wife, Sharifa, was having a hard time with her grief.

"He's so careful always," she said.

His daughter, Heena, described a father who was always there for them.

"He knew driving a cab was dangerous, but I think he had so much confidence in himself he was not worried too much," Heena said.

Paryani moved to the United States from Pakistan in 1971. He drove a taxi in Chicago for 18 years, the last two or three for Koam Taxi Association Inc.

Friday's altercation happened at 535 W. Briar in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood at about 12:30 a.m. after he picked up the passenger near Cambridge and Belmont.

The passenger apparently flagged down Paryani and began arguing with him, according to Police News Affairs Officer John Mirabelli.

The passenger then battered the driver, threw him from the vehicle and ran Paryani over several times, rolling over his head and neck.

The passenger then sped off in the cab, hit several parked cars and drove about a half block before abandoning after it crashed at 3191 N. Broadway. The suspect reportedly hailed another cab to get away.

It was not clear whether Paryani "got caught in the undercarriage or if it (the taxi) went over him a couple of times," according to Town Hall District Lt. Dan Lakich.

There were witnesses to the crime.

“I see this cab swerving right out of Cambridge, slams into this man. He hits the ground,” one woman told CBS 2. “You can hear the sound and at the same time you hear this woman screaming hysterically.”

Paryani was pronounced dead at Illinois Masonic hospital at 1:16 a.m., a medical examiner's spokesman said.

Chicago Professional Taxicab Drivers Association President Steve Wiedersberg Friday's incident was a reminder that driving taxis is one of the most dangerous professions around.

"You have robbery, you have people who get into commotion with cab drivers. It's been that way for years," Wiedersberg said. "The life of a cabdriver isn't worth two dead flies out here."

Paryani is the second cab driver killed on the job this year. The first, 61-year-old Frank Frempong, was killed New Year's Day when his cab was apparently struck by a drunk driver. The motorist who hit the cab was charged with drunken driving and reckless homicide.

Police asked that anyone with information about Friday's attack or the whereabouts of the assailant to contact the Belmont Area Violent Crimes Unit at (312) 744-8261.

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