Man who attacked NYC taxi driver convicted of manslaughter

A man who beat a taxi driver to death in Queens was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Tuesday, the district attorney announced. The man, Austin Amos, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in May.

Two years ago, 22-year-old Amos and four companions rode a taxi from Manhattan to Far Rockaway, Queens. When they arrived, the group got into an argument with taxi driver Kutin Gyimah over the fare, according to prosecutors. Amos and three other passengers punched and kicked the driver, prosecutors said. Gyimah, 52, died of his injuries later that day.

In a statement announcing the verdict, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said Mr Gyimah was “brutally beaten and left for dead” by Mr Amos and the other passengers.

Mr. Gyimah picked up the group in a yellow minivan taxi on Aug. 13, 2022. He dropped them off a few blocks from Rockaway Beach just before 6:30 a.m., but the passengers drove off without paying for their ride, prosecutors said. Mr. Gyimah caught up with one of them before the others surrounded him and began beating him.

The attack was captured on CCTV footage, which showed one of the attackers – Mr Amos, according to the prosecution – hitting Mr Gyimah on the head. He was then seen falling to the ground and lying motionless on his back. Mr Gyimah was pronounced dead at a hospital later that day.

One of the other attackers, Nickolas Porter, pleaded guilty to attempted gang assault and was sentenced to two years in prison in February. Two months later, Porter, 22, was released on parole, according to records from the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.

The other three passengers in the taxi were teenagers. Two of them were involved in the attack along with Mr Porter and Mr Amos, according to prosecutors. Their cases have been referred to family court, prosecutors said.

At the time of the attack, the three girls were under 17 years old. Mr Porter and Mr Amos were both 20 years old.

Judge Ushir Pandit-Durant imposed a 10-year prison sentence on Mr. Amos in Queens Criminal Court on Tuesday. After Mr. Amos serves his sentence, he will be on probation for five years. He had no previous arrests, police said.

Mr Amos was represented by Jonathan Latimer of the Queens Defenders. Mr Latimer was unavailable for comment.

According to a GoFundMe page set up by the taxi company that employed him, Mr. Gyimah lived in the Bronx with his wife and four children under the age of 10.

Speaking to reporters in 2022, Mr Gyimah’s wife described her husband as a “good, good man.”

“He was my backbone,” she said. “I’m lost now, my children are here. I don’t know what to do now. I’m lost. I’m lost in this world.”

Kirsten Noyes made a research contribution.