With broken hearts, we mourn the loss of our third brother found deceased in his taxi over the last three months.
The brother, of the Sikh faith, was a father to 10-year-old twins. He was young and active.
On Friday afternoon around 5 pm, he pulled over after dropping off passengers in the West Village. His friends realized something was wrong when they couldn't reach him for hours. At 11 pm, they traced the car to the West Village and learned he had been parked there since the drop-off.
How many strangers passed him? How many hit the hood for the car to move or lamented there were too many cabbies taking up parking spots? There lay a man, a devoted father and husband, with a wife in a frantic search and with parents and siblings far away.
We are supposed to work to live, not live to work. But drivers like our deceased brother work grueling hours. As trips shrink while costs grow, they’re left with little time to take care of themselves working longer and longer hours to try to make ends meet.
Rest in eternal peace, dear brother. We know this inhumane system failed you, though you gave it your everything. We will honor you in our struggle.