Cabby cruises

A cabby accused of ramming his taxi into two would-be passengers rather than drive them from Midtown to The Bronx has been acquitted of trying to murder them.

Mohammed Azam, 29, was convicted yesterday of just a single count of reckless assault and another count of leaving the scene of an accident in the bizarre 2011 case.

Azam was immediately handcuffed and taken into custody after the Manhattan Supreme Court verdict.

He faces a mandatory minimum of two years in prison on the assault conviction, but dodged a threatened sentence of at least five years — and as many as 25 — on the attempted-murder charge.

Steven Hirsch

MOHAMMED AZAM
Still faces prison time.

Jurors had visibly chuckled and rolled their eyes when Azam took the stand to insist that the two intoxicated young men had "jumped" on his hood and then simply rolled off — all without him stepping on the gas pedal.

This was no "gentle," slow-motion mishap, prosecutors had countered.

One of the men, Anthony Loreto Jr., had smashed his head on the pavement of West 54th Street with such force that he had to be put in a medically induced coma for two weeks to treat his cracked skull and bruised brain.

Still, evidence had also shown that the victims had been drinking and had argued forcefully about being driven home to The Bronx, and that Azam had hit them at no more than about 10 to 15 mph.

"Look, this is a case that is a near tragedy if not a tragedy on both sides," said Azam's lawyer, Gary Sunden. "The injury to Mr. Loreto was horrendous. But on the other hand, this is a situation Mr. Azam did not create and never wanted," the lawyer said.

Azam had declined to take the men to The Bronx because it was less than a half-hour before the end of his 12-hour shift, and returning his cab late to his boss' Queens taxi depot would have resulted in fines and points against his license, he testified during the trial.

"It's a very sad case," the lawyer said. "It really is. This is a good person," he said of Azam, who had been saving to complete his final semester toward a medical degree at a college in Aruba. "A decent person."

litaliano@nypost.com

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