NYC Cabbie Loses License After Killing 9-Year-Old Boy

After hitting and killing a 9-year-old boy, a New York City cab driver is losing his professional license. This announcement, which was made by the New York Taxi and Limousine Commission, comes after the death of Cooper Stock. The accident took place on the Upper West Side of Manhattan earlier in the year.

The cabbie, known as Koffi Komlani, will see his license “expire [on] July 5 and we have notified him of our intention to decline its renewal.” This news comes from Allan Fromberg, a TLC spokesman who wrote into Yahoo.

Stock is just one of several people who have died after being stuck by taxis in New York City. Cooper’s death and the deaths of others have started a demand in reforming New York City’s street design and traffic laws. According to the source, groups like Transportation Alternatives and Families for Safe Street are hoping that the adoption of alternative practices in countries like Sweden will be practiced by New York City. These practices have lowered the traffic death rates in Sweden.

Cooper Stock, the 9-year-old boy that was hit by Komlani’s cab, lost his life while holding his father’s hand as the two were crossing the corner of 97th Street and West End Avenue. Stock passed away from his injuries on January 10.

According to Fromberg, the TLC made their decision to revoke the cabbie’s license “based on Komlani’s status as a probationary driver.” Komlani only had his license for less than a year before he killed Cooper with his cab.

Unfortunately for Stock’s parents, Dr. Richard Stock and Dana Lerner, the couple were told on Thursday that criminal charges wouldn’t be brought upon Komlani. “They told me there is nothing in the law right now that specifies that he can be charged with any crime,” said Lerner. However, Cooper’s mother was relieved that he wouldn’t be on the road again as a cab driver, and that he could no longer injure anyone or hurt anyone else’s family the way Komlani had hers.

In a statement, Lerner said:

“What people need to understand is that he is permitted to drive and to drive passengers around. The laws in New York state which say you can kill someone and not face any real consequences are appalling, and they need to be changed.”

As for Komlani he has not driven a cab since Cooper’s death.

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