Michael Findley Hijacks And Crashes Cab In Union Square

A drunk man decided to take an unsuspecting cab driver for a ride, according to police.

After hijacking a taxi, Michael Findley crashed the car into a poll in Union Square.

Michael Findley hailed a cab on the Bowery early Sunday morning and asked the driver, Mohammad Latif, for a ride to the West Village.

After saying he wouldn't eat in the taxi, Findley reneged on his promise and spilled rice all over the seat, Latif said. When the cabbie chastised him, Findley started cursing at him and banging on the partition.

Latif demanded that his passenger get out, but Findley punched him twice, and forced Latif out of the front seat.

"He didn't care about the red lights," Latif told the Daily News. "He could've killed someone on the street. That's all I was thinking."

The cabbie jumped out of the car on West Houston and Mercer when the taxi was stopped in traffic.

"He was driving crazy, and I realized I should leave the cab," Latif told the New York Post.

A cop car noticed Findley go the wrong way on Mercer, and in his efforts to evade the police, Findley knocked over a utility poll on East 14th Street and Union Square West at 3:20 a.m., Saturday morning (see photo here).

Perhaps Latif can take some comfort in knowing things could have been worse.

Back in August, Michael Enright uttered an Islamic greeting before he stabbed a cab driver who said he was Muslim.