NYC Cab Driver Dead For 18 Hours In Car Before Wife Finds Him

NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- A New York City taxi driver lay dead for 18 hours in his car without anyone noticing him on a Manhattan street.

Last Tuesday, Mehari Bokrezion, a 59-year-old immigrant from Africa, parked his yellow cab in the taxi relief zone on Thompson Street in SoHo where taxi drivers can rest for an hour without getting a ticket.

Bokrezion closed his eyes and quietly passed away.

For 18 hours, he was dead behind the wheel, 1010 WINS' Carol D'Auria reported.

He was discovered by his wife after he failed to return home from work.

Many wonder how the death could have gone unnoticed.

The taxi relief zone stands next to a busy basketball court nearby, about 25-feet from a coffee cart and near the rear of the SoHo Grand Hotel where workers go in and out.

"They go there to rest so nobody wants to bother you while you're resting," Gus, who works nearby, said.

Bokrezion worked as a driver at Susan Maintenance Corp. for nearly 30 years.

"He was a nice guy, I knew him for almost 20 years," said taxi dispatcher Franklin Lambert. "It was just the time for him to go."