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Driver With Ivy League Pedigree Arrested In Guard-Shoplifter Confrontation
By
Jen Chung
Published May 16, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published May 16, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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The police have arrested the man who was driving the getaway van that injured a Queens security guard. Guard Awali Khouroupra (pictured) had chased shoplifters into the van and held onto the van's door. The shoplifters kicked him as the van dragged him for a block.
Though Khouroupra was seriously injured, he managed to write down the license plate number of the van. The Daily News reports the suspected driver, Philip Zabriskie, told the police he went to Exeter, where he was a lacrosse player and elected class president, and later graduated from Yale: He "told cops about the rarefied world where he spent his early years, before drugs put him on the road to ruin, sources said."
The News called Zabriskie an "alleged wheelman" and says that the 52-year-old's former Exeter classmates were shocked. One said, "He was incredibly smart. He could do anything he wanted to do. I don't know what happened. ... I just don't know him as that person. The person I know was class president, a person liked by everyone." Zabriski was charged with first-degree robbery, assault and leaving the scene of an accident. Khouroupra is still in critical condition at Mary Immaculate Hospital.
Tagged
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Mary Immaculate Hospital
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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