Man arrested in fatal beating of taxi driver at Hollywood gas station
A 34-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of fatally beating a taxi cab driver at a Hollywood gas station following a dispute over fare, authorities said.
Najib Halibi, a resident of Los Angeles County, was taken into custody Wednesday near Avalon Boulevard and the 405 Freeway, Los Angeles police Officer Drake Madison said.
Police contend that Halibi was riding in a taxi cab Sunday at about 3 a.m. when he argued with the driver at the 76 gas station in Franklin Village, at the foot of the Hollywood Hills.
The dispute escalated, and both the passenger and the driver exited the car, LAPD Officer Norma Eisenman said. The driver was repeatedly punched and kicked, police said.
“The cab driver was struck several times,” LAPD Lt. John Radtke told KTLA-TV Channel 5. “That fight led into the gas station parking lot and then the victim fell down and possibly hit his head.”
Halibi fled on foot, heading eastbound on Franklin Avenue, police alleged.
The driver was later identified by the Yellow Cab taxi company as Afsawosen Alemseged.
Paramedics rushed him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The L.A. County coroner’s office has not officially identified him because his family has not been formally notified.
The taxi company told KABC-TV Channel 7 that Alemseged had worked as a driver for 24 years and that he had gained renown among his native Ethiopian community for his singing, writing and music work.
“It’s very hard to take it,” longtime friend and Yellow Cab executive Mekebib Seifu told KNBC-TV Channel 4. “He’s like my brother, you know? He was one of the good drivers.”
The alleged killer, Halibi, has not been charged by the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. He was being held in lieu of $2 million bail, and it’s unclear if he was represented by an attorney.
Twitter: @MattHjourno.
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