It turned into an annoying day for political refugee Komo Onivogui when another driver plowed an SUV into his Metro Taxi. But Onivogui has had bigger problems on his mind.
The collision took place around 10:30 a.m. Monday on Howard Avenue near Congress.
Onivogui was driving a woman to Yale-New Haven Hospital’s Primary Care Center. He was about to turn right into the hospital’s driveway.
From behind came a 1996 Hummer H3. Smack! The Hummer hit the rear of Onivogui ‘s cab. Shards of bumper and rear lights scattered on the road.
Both drivers pulled over. They proceeded to tell their sides of the story to police Officer Luis Rivera, to Metro Taxi investigator Tom Hackley, and to a reporter. (Click on the play arrow in the above video for a sample.)
The Hummer helmsman, a 53-year-old painting tradesman named Thomas Pearson (pictured), said he was traveling westbound, coming home from a visit to his cousin’s house, when the cabbie halted with no notice.
“He was pulling over. He just stopped, just like that — bang!” Pearson claimed. “I couldn’t even swerve out the damn way.”
Paul Bass Photo
Onivogui (pictured reporting to Metro investigator Hackley) insisted that Pearson was driving recklessly and caused the collision.
“He was following me. I was driving. I don’t stop,” Onivogui said. “He was too close. I had two or three cars in front of me.”
Officer Rivera took down both drivers’ versions. He didn’t take sides; he didn’t issue a ticket.
Hackley argued that his company’s driver was in the right.
“It’s definitely the other guy’s fault. He rear-ended him. He was following too close; he wasn’t paying attention,” Hackley said. “Any time somebody gets rear-ended, it’s usually the guy who’s following too close.” He said he usually investigates three or four collisions a week involving Metro drivers. The company has 160 cars in the fleet, he said.
Onivogui i’s female passenger ended up going to the emergency room, not the primary care center. She didn’t seem too badly injured, both the cabbie and the investigator said; she was walking. An ambulance took her around the corner to the emergency room anyway.
Onivogui , who’s 45, said he suffered some “back pain” following the collision.
He’s encountered bigger problems than this one. Like the ones that led him to leave his native Guinea and come to New Haven in 2001.
Back in his West African homeland, he was a policeman, he said. Members of his family were active in politics; they opposed the government. “They killed my people, six people from my family,” he said of the government.
In New Haven, lawyers from Yale helped him obtain political asylum so he wouldn’t have to return to Guinea. He got married. He and his wife have seven kids, he said.
Onivogui said he likes America. “Nice country. If you don’t work, you have nothing. You have to work.”
He works five to six days a week driving the cab, he said. Still, making ends meet has been tough. Since Metro cabbies are technically independent contractors, not employees, they don’t have to receive minimum wage. On a good week Onivogui brings home $250 to $300, he said. “When it’s not busy, you don’t have nothing.” This past week has not been busy; he’s taken in $100, he said. His wife’s unemployed; she receives $200 a week in benefits. The family also receives food stamps.
They’ve fallen behind on their rent on Sherman Avenue. Their landlord has initiated eviction proceedings against them, Onivogui said.
He’s dealing with that, he said. First, on Monday, he planned to arrange to see a doctor.
