Friends and fellow taxi drivers gathered in Harlem on Sunday to mourn the loss of a hardworking immigrant cabbie who died inside his vehicle during this summer’s brutal heat wave.
Gustave Bertrand Adjeli Yao, known in Harlem as 73-year-old Richard Coulibaly, was found dead inside his taxi on July 2 after parking overnight on Frederick Douglass Boulevard between West 116th and 117th Streets. Although nearly two months have passed since his death, Coulibaly’s body only arrived in Ivory Coast on Aug. 30 following a lengthy effort to identify him and reunite him with his family.
In a poignant twist, mourners setting up flowers for a vigil at the very spot where Coulibaly died received word that his remains had finally arrived in his homeland.
According to New York Taxi Workers Alliance Executive Director Bhairavi Desai, fellow drivers and friends had to work together to identify Coulibaly and locate his relatives after authorities were unable to immediately confirm his identity.
Friends and fellow taxi drivers gathered in Harlem on Sunday to mourn the loss of a hardworking immigrant cabbie who died inside his vehicle during this summer’s brutal heat wave.Photo by Dean Moses 
Friends and fellow taxi drivers gathered in Harlem on Sunday to mourn the loss of a hardworking immigrant cabbie who died inside his vehicle during this summer’s brutal heat wave.Photo by Dean Moses
“All we saw was a taxi, and that was covered by the police. But in the back of the car, we saw a sticker with the name of the garage, and that’s how we eventually tracked down who the driver was, because the friends had gathered here believing that it was Mr. Coulibaly, but the police would not confirm it for us,” Desai told amNewYork. “So our first task was actually tracking down who the driver was, and then finding the family in Ivory Coast. He was in touch with his brother, but none of the friends knew anything else about him in terms of his private life. He was just a very isolated person.”
Coulibaly had been driving a taxi since 2007, sending much of his earnings back to his family in the West African nation. Friends described him as a quiet, private man who devoted himself to his work.
Police discovered him after noticing his cab had remained parked near a local bus stop for an extended period. The city’s Office of Chief Medical Examiner ruled that he died of natural causes.
For Desai, Coulibaly’s death reflects the often lonely reality faced by many immigrant workers — spending years sacrificing for loved ones abroad, only to die far from home and family.
“I can’t tell you the number of stories I’ve heard from immigrant drivers through the years who, when they lose a loved one back home, don’t have papers and aren’t able to travel,” Desai said. “The idea that here was a man who died here in this country all alone, and his family wouldn’t know it, really broke us.
Friends and fellow taxi drivers gathered in Harlem on Sunday to mourn the loss of a hardworking immigrant cabbie who died inside his vehicle during this summer’s brutal heat wave.Photo by Dean Moses 
Friends and fellow taxi drivers gathered in Harlem on Sunday to mourn the loss of a hardworking immigrant cabbie who died inside his vehicle during this summer’s brutal heat wave.Photo by Dean Moses
“I remember years ago I had a driver at LaGuardia Airport say to me, ‘USA stands for You Stand Alone.’ There’s a real feeling that once you’re in this country, you’re easily discarded, and you spend every moment trying to prove why you shouldn’t be.”
The New York Taxi Workers Alliance eventually located Coulibaly’s family and helped pay to return his body to Ivory Coast.
Holding flowers, friends and fellow taxi drivers gathered at the site of his death Sunday to honor his memory, saying that while Coulibaly died alone, he would not be forgotten.
Friends and fellow taxi drivers gathered in Harlem on Sunday to mourn the loss of a hardworking immigrant cabbie who died inside his vehicle during this summer’s brutal heat wave.Photo by Dean Moses