His last street hail nearly cost him his life.
His father told Eyewitness News in Spanish that he warned his son about the dangers of the overnight job, and asked him to quit.
At 3 on Sunday morning, Villegas was shot at the corner of East 137 Street and Cypress Avenue in the Mott Haven section.
"He honked the horn they told him they were not interested in a cab," said Taxi Cab Federation Spokesperson Fernando Mateo, "evidently he got very aggressive with him at the point they pulled a gun out and just shot him. He was able to drive himself to the precinct."
Mateo says that Villegas is in serious but stable condition at Lincoln Hospital. He was shot in the left chest, but is expected to survive. Now his family and fellow drivers hope police can make an arrest soon before someone else is shot.
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