Area Taxi Driver Accused Of Sex Assault Of Unconscious Woman Fired

A taxi driver who allegedly raped an unconscious woman in his cab in Sunnyvale Sunday evening has been fired, the cab company’s president said in a statement this afternoon.

“Upon learning about this tragic event we have terminated our relationship with the driver,” Yellow Checker Cab Company president Lawrence Silva said.

He expressed condolences for the victim and said the company is cooperating with the investigation. The city’s Department of Public Safety identified the driver as 29-year-old Navjot Singh of Santa Clara.

Singh and his roommate, Gurminder Sekhon, 30, were arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and rape, public safety officials said. The incident was first reported at 6:08 p.m. Sunday when witnesses observed the victim being forcibly removed from a checkered cab in the vicinity of North Wolfe and Kifer roads, according to the department.

An investigation indicated that the victim had called a cab after drinking.

Police said that after Singh picked her up in the vicinity of El Monte Road and Interstate Highway 280 in Los Altos Hills, the two decided to purchase alcohol and consensually drank it together in the taxi, public safety officials said. At some point, the victim lost consciousness.

When she regained consciousness, she was being sexually assaulted by Sekhon inside the taxi, according to the department. A struggle ensued and witnesses observed the victim being forcibly removed from the cab, which is when the incident was called in to dispatch, public safety officials said.

An off-duty officer in the area observed the cab driving away and followed it until officers in marked patrol vehicles could conduct a traffic stop.

Investigating officers later determined that at some point while the victim was unconscious, Singh had picked up Sekhon and both men had participated in the rape, according to the department. This case remains under investigation.

Anyone with additional information is encouraged to call Detective Liz Nguyen at (408) 730-7120.

--Bay City News

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