A preteen from Ridgewood was molested by a cab driver early Sunday morning, but escaped further harm when she jumped out of the cab at a red light, police said.
According to published reports, the 11-year-old girl left her Ridgewood home around 1 a.m. on Dec. 11 to visit a cousin’s house in Astoria. The victim got lost in the subway system and ended up at the Woodside Avenue 7 train station.
It was then, cops said, that the suspect — described as a Hispanic or Indian male in his 40s, standing about 5 feet 8 inches tall, with a medium build and a clean-shaven, freckled face, black hair and brown eyes who was last seen wearing black jeans, a gray sweater and black Sketchers sneakers — pulled up to the preteen at 4:23 a.m. and asked if she needed a ride.
When she declined, the suspect got out of the cab and forced the girl into the front seat. While in the cab, the driver allegedly grabbed the girl’s chest and fondled her breasts, police sources said.
The victim exited the cab at a red light near the intersection of 30th Avenue and 12th Street and called police, law enforcement agents noted. Officers from the 114th Precinct responded to the call and EMS units brought the victim to Elmhurst Hospital for an examination.
The investigation is ongoing.
