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Pedicab Driver Beaten Unconscious By Rival Pedicab Driver, Manhunt Ensues
By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 19, 2011
Modified Jul 19, 2011
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By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 19, 2011
Modified Jul 19, 2011
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Have you seen this baseball bat-wielding Tajikistan-born pedicab driver? Police say that on on June 4th he helped beat up two other pedicab drivers during a vague dispute in Central Park. (Typical savage cyclists, right?) His name is Firdaus Nazarov, he's 23 years old, and he also "may be a kickboxer." He may seem all cuddly while smiling next to an adorable giant teddy bear, but according to court papers obtained by DNAinfo, his victim suffered a broken nose, a chipped tooth and a fractured eye socket that could leave him permanently blind in one eye.
The other victim, also a pedicab driver and, escaped with just a bloody nose, cuts and bruises. The victims were cousins from Kazakhstan. "It was a pre-existing argument and they met in Central Park to settle it," one cop tells DNAinfo. "I don't know if it was to fight or settle it peacefully." Nazarov and two of his accomplices have thus far evaded arrest, but one of the alleged perpetrators, Russian-born pedicab driver Furkat Abidov, 32, was picked up in Chinatown days after the assault. He's been charged with gang assault, and the giant teddy bear also remains at large.
Tagged
beating
central park
cyclists
pedicabs
rivalry
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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