Bob Simon Death: Dead Journalists' Taxi Driver Reportedly Hit the Gas Instead of Brakes Before Fatal Car Accident [Pic]
The taxi driver whose car CBS newsman Bob Simon was riding in at the time of the crash that killed him earlier this week has a history that includes at least nine license suspensions and an instance where he once attempted suicide.
Abdul Reshad Fedahi, 44, was living in a homeless shelter at the time of the deadly crash and suffering from a "dead" left arm stemming from the injuries from when he jumped from a Brooklyn apartment building window more than a decade ago, New York Post reports.
"He has a messed-up arm," Luis Mendez, who lives in the same shelter as Fedahi, said. "One arm doesn't move at all. He does everything with one arm,"
Investigators reportedly now believe that Fedahi was traveling as fast as 50 mph in a 35-mph zone at the time of the accident and may have accidentally hit the gas instead of his brakes as he was traveling on West Side Highway just before 7 p.m. Wednesday night.
"He hit the gas instead of the brake," a law enforcement source told New York Post.
The source added that Fedahi sideswiped at least one other vehicle.
"He sped up after hitting the car," the source explained. "There were no skid marks."
The 73-year-old Simon was riding in the back seat without a seat belt at the time of the crash. He suffered a broken neck and severe stomach and head trauma. Sources add the "60 Minutes" correspondent went into cardiac arrest on the way to Roosevelt Hospital and was officially pronounced dead shortly after arriving there.
According to New York Post, Fedahi suffered a pair or broken legs and a broken arm. He remains hospitalized at Bellevue Hospital and has not been criminally charged. Fedahi reportedly told family members he "blacked out" just before the accident and cannot recall what occurred.
Another driver for the Skyline Company Fedahi worked for told authorities he had recently been fired after customers complained about his driving. He added the company was recently taken over by new owners and they had made the decision to rehire him.
All of Fedahi's license suspensions were for not paying fines and ignoring summonses, though New York Post reports he also had at least two moving violations on his regular driver's license for speeding and "disobeying a traffic device.''
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