Dies of his wounds
Immigrant ride-share driver struck by a stray bullet . . .
An immigrant Uber driver, struck in the head by a stray bullet while behind the wheel, died Tuesday from the gunshot fired in a Harlem street shootout, family members said.
Kuldip Singh, 21, was only in his second month with the ride-sharing company when the bullet slammed into the back of his head Saturday, leaving his distraught parents to keep a bedside vigil at Mount Sinai Morningside.
But surgeons were never able to remove the bullet, and the random victim lost most of his brain function before dying.
No arrests have been made in the gunfight where Singh was shot while driving a mom and her 12-year-old son down
W. 131st St. in Harlem. Cops released video of the shootout Tuesday and are asking the public’s help tracking down five people of interest.
“Kuldip growing up was a great kid,” his father Prittal Singh, 73, a retired driver in their native India, told the Daily News shortly before his son’s passing. “I never had any problems with him.”
The young driver was taken into surgery Tuesday as doctors battled in vain to save his life.
According to the father, the younger Singh learned to speak English after coming to New York with his parents in 2018. He began working for Uber only about two months ago.
Police believe a 15-year-old boy fired the bullet that struck the young immigrant after the shooter was wounded by another gunman in the Saturday night shootout in Harlem. No arrests have yet been made.
Singh was a devout Sikh.
“He’s very religious. He’s very nice and very helpful to others,” said Sukhwinder Singh, 41, the victim’s neighbor in South Richmond Hill, Queens, who is unrelated to the victim. “We’re incredibly sad. We couldn’t believe it when we heard. We wish that God could help him.”
The young driver’s boss, Ahsan Ullah of B&F Leasing, described Singh as a well-liked young man.
“He was a great kid,” said Ullah, adding that he drove for both Uber and Lyft. “I’ve never met anyone like him.”
The wounded Singh’s Uber only came to a halt after plowing into a double-parked car further down the block, cops said.
“Our hearts are with the driver, his passengers and their loved ones after this horrific and senseless act of violence,” Uber spokeswoman Carly DeBeikes said in a statement.