A drunk passenger in a Manhattan yellow cab pummeled the driver and hijacked the taxi during a blow up over the fare, police said Tuesday.
The passenger was riding in the back of the yellow cab when he said the cost of the ride was too high and he wasn’t going to pay, cops said.
The fed up cabbie stopped the taxi near Lexington Ave. and E. 23rd St. in Gramercy Park about 10:30 p.m. Monday and asked him to get out but he refused, cops said.
The cabbie got out of the car and tried to pull the passenger out of the back seat. The passenger responded by punching the driver in the face multiple times, then jumped behind the wheel and sped off downtown on Lexington Ave., leaving the stunned cabbie behind.
Cops quickly reached out to the cab company, which tracked the stolen vehicle through its GPS tag to Madison Ave. near 78th St.
When cops arrived at that location, the car thief was just getting out of the cab, police said. Officers pursued him on foot until they grabbed him at 79th St. and Park Ave.
The crook was taken to an area hospital for observation. Criminal charges were pending Tuesday.
The cab driver declined medical attention, cops said.
