The Tukwila community is grappling with a harrowing loss after the body of cab driver Nicholas Frank Hokema, 34, was found in a parking lot at Southcenter Mall early Monday morning, as per Tukwila Police. Hokema was tragically stabbed to death during his 12-hour overnight shift, a time when he should have been ferrying passengers safely to their destinations. "I'm torn up inside. I'm crying like crazy, ok. I mean, this is my son for heaven's sake," Hardy Hokema, the victim's father, expressed in a heart-wrenching statement obtained by FOX 13 Seattle.
As the investigation unfolds, Tukwila Police maintain a suspect is still at large and may be impersonating a taxi driver in the stolen vehicle, described as a red 2012 four-door Toyota Camry with contrasting red hood and front bumper and "RediCab" markings. The death has shattered a family, with Hokema's father two states away in California at the time of the murder. "This is unjust, ok. I don’t wish this on anybody," he said according to the same FOX 13 Seattle report.
In a personal account, Nicole Sharkody, Hokema's girlfriend, recalls Hokema's love for his work as a driver, which he had been doing for seven years. Hokema found inspiration in the people he met, taking their stories to heart. "He would come home and tell me stories about people, what they were going through in their lives, and he would get invested," Sharkody said in a statement obtained by KOMO News. The same source reports that his loved ones assumed his silence during his shift was out of ordinary behavior such as misplacing his phone.
The loss extends beyond the family to include Hokema's work circle, described as small and close-knit. Rick Brimmer, a colleague of Hokema at RediCab, highlighted the deeply personal nature of the tragedy. "Everyone at RediCab is deeply affected by this," Brimmer told KING 5. In the wake of this event, the specter of danger that hangs over the occupation of cab and rideshare drivers is once again underscored; Such is a second incident of a driver being killed on the job in 2024. "Safety has always been the number one concern in this industry," Brimmer said during the same interview.
As Tukwila police urge the public to be on the lookout for the vehicle allegedly linked to Hokema's death, those who knew Hokema mourn a future cruelly cut short. The discovery of engagement rings on his computer is a poignant reminder of the plans he had, plans Sharkody would have embraced in a heartbeat. "I would have said yes in a heartbeat," she disclosed to KING 5. The investigation into Nicholas Frank Hokema's untimely death continues, as the Tukwila community reckons with a senseless act of violence that has stolen one of their own.
