While working for Uber as a driver but not during a ride, Randolph Tolk, aged 68 was killed by a pedestrian after a minor altercation. The deceased was driving in the Chelsea district of Manhattan when he got into an argument with a pedestrian. 68-year-old Tolk argued with 39-year-old Kohji Kosugi from Manhattan, who hit Tolk on the head with his hockey stick and then stepped on his chest when walking away. The elderly driver managed to get back in his car and started to drive away but the car crashed a few blocks away, and the deceased was pronounced dead.
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Kosugi had just left the Chelsea Piers ice rink late Saturday night when he got into the fight with Tolk on the intersection of 11th Avenue and 20th Street. According to witnesses of the crime scene, it was not clear what started the argument, but Kosugi hit Tolk's car with his hockey stick when Tolk got out to confront Kosugi, he was hit on the head, when he fell to the ground, Kosugi pinned him down with his foot. A taxi driver that was at the scene, Fernando Mateo, told CBS news that "He (Tolk) fell on the ground. The guy put his foot on his chest, held him on the ground."
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According to his son, Andrew, Randolph Tolk was a dedicated father and a selfless person; he would always help others and was always there for anyone that needed assistance. His son, Andrew Tolk, 31 years old stated "He put everybody before himself, to a fault," and said that "He was a smart man. I know he was an Uber driver, but he was highly educated. He graduated from the University of Miami in 1971. He got a master's degree in textiles in Leicester, England, and worked in the textile industry."
Tolk was an educated professional from Brooklyn, and that he had worked for many years in the textile industry. After his career ended, he started to work for Uber to make ends meet. Andrew Tolk told reports that his parents had met at the University of Miami while they were students and married on the 16th Sept, 1973. They settled in West New York on Boulevard East where they raised their two sons Andrew and his older brother, Prescott.
Randolph Tolk had three grandchildren, two from Andrew and one from Prescott, who now lives in Los Angeles. Randolph was separated from his wife Barbara who now lives in Las Vegas with Andrew.
According to the police, the attacker Kosugi was arrested on Sunday and was charged with manslaughter.