CROWN HEIGHTS — A respected Lubavitcher rabbi was struck three times by the same livery cab and killed crossing the street near his home on Monday afternoon, according to police and witnesses.
Rabbi Yekutiel Rapp, 66, who was born in Israel and moved to Brooklyn when he was 20, was initially struck at 5:35 p.m. at the corner of Balfor Place and Empire Boulevard when a white town car knocked him down while reversing to park.
In the chaotic scene that followed, the driver drove forward over the rabbi then backed over him again, witnesses said.
“People were screaming, 'Stop the car,'" said Josh Fish, who witnessed the aftermath of the fatal incident. "He backed up over the guy three times.”
Another witness said a group of ten to 15 onlookers rushed over to the cab and tried to lift it off the crushed man.
"There was was blood on his face," Calvin Thomas, 56, said. "I was scared for the guy."
Rapp was taken to Kings County Hospital in cardiac arrest and pronounced dead on arrival, according to police and fire officials.
The rabbi moved to New York City from Israel to study at Chabad Lubavitch's headquarters, a spokesman said. He stayed on and later joined the faculty.
Rapp taught at the yeshiva, but worked mostly with international students from Israel, the spokesman said.
“He was someone who was very loved by the students," the spokesman said. "He was very, very dedicated and committed to helping other people.”
The livery cab driver remained at the scene, police and witnesses said. No arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing, according to the NYPD.
A representative of Bed Star, the livery company who operates the vehicle, could not be reached for comment.
