NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—Being a cab driver can be a dangerous job, especially in New Brunswick.

A driver behind the wheel of All Brunswick Taxi #38 found himself in a frightening situation on Wednesday night after two men he was driving led him to a relatively secluded Second Ward neighborhood and assaulted him in his own vehicle.

Rutgers University Police did not issue a “crime alert” despite the severity of the crime and its proximity to campus.  Conger Avenue runs parallel to the Cook campus, just 100 feet to the Northwest.

The victim said his assailants began the altercation by reaching for the keys to the cab, according to police radio transmissions.

Eventually, the driver was pistol-whipped, but he was able to wrestle the gun away from the men and all three fled on foot.

The driver ran into a home on Reservoir Avenue and called the police, setting the gun down on a kitchen table.

New Brunswick Police Department’s spokesperson has not responded to questions about the incident, nor has the RUPD responded to questions about why there was not a crime alert issued.

As we reported, the NBPD has ignored New Brunswick Today’s questions about a January 1 stabbing and several subsequent violent crimes, not responding to a single inquiry since the beginning of the new year.

Located between Recreation Park, the city’s Water Treatment Plant, and the Cook campus, Reservoir and Conger Avenues are two city streets that, together, have just one way in and one way out: South Ward Street.

Coincidentally, the city is planning to extend Sanford Street and Pine Street to connect with Reservoir Avenue, as part of its long-awaited improvements to Recreation Park.

The changes might make the neighborhood where the incident happened somewhat less secluded.

Editor at New Brunswick Today | 732-993-9697 | editor@newbrunswicktoday.com | Website

Charlie is the founder and editor of New Brunswick Today, and the winner of the Awbrey Award for Community-Oriented Local Journalism. He is a proud Rutgers University journalism graduate, a community organizer, and a former independent candidate for mayor of New Brunswick.

Charlie is the founder and editor of New Brunswick Today, and the winner of the Awbrey Award for Community-Oriented Local Journalism. He is a proud Rutgers University journalism graduate, a community organizer, and a former independent candidate for mayor of New Brunswick.