MONTREAL -- Montreal police are investigating the murder of a 45-year-old taxi driver who was killed on the job in Cote-des-Neiges just after midnight Wednesday.

Ziad Bouzid, an Algerian-born father, was likely shot from behind by a group of customers he picked up near Trudeau Airport.

Officers discovered the man at 12:15 a.m. when the cab driver smashed into a car parked on Darlington Ave. near Cote Ste. Catherine Rd.

“I head two deafening sounds, followed by a crash,” said student Alexandre Peterson, who was nearby.

Bouzid was slumped at the wheel of his car with injuries to his head that were obviously not caused by the crash.

Witnesses said there was blood on the windows of the taxi consistent with someone being struck in the head.

"There was some blood that was found inside the vehicle that makes us believe that probably there was an altercation or something that happened in the vehicle, but we're trying now to know if anyone or if anything could help us to find any potential suspect or any description," said Const. Jean-Pierre Brabant.

The impact shows signs it happened at high speed: the taxi is wedged underneath the parked car, the parked car was pushed into a large planter, and a signpost in front of the planter is bent.

Paramedics rushed him to hospital where he was pronounced dead. Police quickly realized it was not the crash that killed him.

“The injuries the man had did not match any injuries of a car accident,” said Montreal police Const. Jean-Pierre Brabant. “It was clear the man was suffering from a weapon injury, so he was probably attacked. We’re trying to see if he was attacked inside or outside the taxi.”

Police won’t confirm what kind of weapon was used.

Denis Laramée of Diamond Taxi said there are many elements to Bouzid’s murder that are unusual.

The driver had picked up a client in Dorval after 11 p.m. when someone phoned the company and asked for a lift. Typically attackers hail cabs; they don’t call them, he explained.

“We got a trip request at 15 to midnight last night, the airport area. He picked up the customer, so it's a call that we have in our call centre. Everything is recorded, everything is available to police,” said Laramée.

"It's pretty odd because first of all, assaults on drivers usually will happen with a knife. They will try to steal their money."

Bouzid’s death is the 28th murder of the year in Montreal.

The latest murder once again raises the issue of whether taxi drivers are safe, particularly when they work in the evenings.

In 2009, Mohammed Nehar-Belair was killed under similar circumstances, after picking up a client late at night.

Taxi driver Rabia Lebcir admitted to working in fear.

“You have to choose your neighbourhood or your clientele,” said Lebcir.

Laramee said Diamond Taxi drivers have sophisticated security features inside their cars.

“Every driver has a panic button on his car, and it's there for them, it's a silent alarm that when it's pressed, it will pop up on all of our screens and we'll call 911 and direct the police to his real-time location,” he said.

In this case, it appears Bouzid never had the chance.

"The driver didn't use his panic button," Laramée said.