Monday, October 30th, 2006

Line, Line, Everywhere A Line

The halo effect claims another victim:

An early-morning argument over cutting into line at a popular Midtown falafel cart turned deadly yesterday when a man stabbed a teenager in the chest, cops said.

Tyrone Gibbons, 19, of Short Hills, N.J., was standing in line at a falafel cart at 53rd Street and Sixth Avenue at around 4 a.m., when he and his friends got into an argument with Ziad Tayeh, 23 about cutting the line, police said.

After a heated exchange, Gibbons and his pals hopped in their car, and Tayeh got in his. But when they stopped at a light on 53rd Street and Seventh Avenue, they started arguing again.

“They were not happy with each other,” a police official said.

When the light changed, they turned south onto Seventh Avenue, but again stopped at a light at 52nd Street, and the fight erupted all over again.

Then Tayeh jumped out of his white Lexus and allegedly plunged a blade into Gibbons’ chest, cops said.

Tayeh hopped back into his car and sped off, and Gibbons was rushed to St. Vincent’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 4:40 a.m., police said.