An Anchorage cab driver was beaten unconscious and then robbed last week by three assailants, Anchorage Police said Monday.
The driver, Atiqullah Khalil, 54, spent several days in the hospital with injuries to his head and face before he was released Friday, police spokeswoman Anita Shell said. Police are searching for the attackers who got away with Khalil's wallet.
The three men, described as Samoan and in their 20s, got into Khalil's cab at the Hilton Hotel on Tuesday Nov. 19 and asked to be taken to the Arctic Tern Inn, Shell said.
As the cab approached the inn, however, the passengers asked Khalil to park in an alley. After the cab stopped, the men began to punch Khalil in the back of the head. "He undid his seat belt and tried to run away but they jumped out of the vehicle and then started hitting him outside the vehicle until he was unconscious," Shell said.
Witnesses reported seeing three or four people flee the scene after assaulting the driver with their fists and kicking him repeatedly in the face, Shell said. They rifled through his pockets and stole his wallet, witnesses told police. A witness called 911 at about 4:15 p.m.
The driver worked for Alaska Yellow Cab. Office manager Regina Doyle directed questions about the assault to the municipal transportation inspector who didn't immediately return a call for comment.
Police said anyone with information about this incident can call Crime Stoppers at 561-STOP.
Reach Zaz Hollander at zhollander@adn.com or 257-4317.
By ZAZ HOLLANDER