An Uber driver on Sunday recounted a violent incident in Costa Mesa that was captured on video and resulted in the arrest of a 32-year-old passenger.
Advertisement
“He was grabbing my head and was trying to smash it against the window”, said driver Edward Caban, who had a bad feeling about the trip from the moment he picked up his passenger in Newport Beach, California, on Friday night.
Caban described the passenger, who Abc7 say police have named as Benjamin Golden, 32, of Newport Beach, as “incredibly intoxicated” and he refused to provide his full address.
The passenger continued swearing and pummeling Caban, yanking his hair.
“That’s why I stopped driving 2 a.m. shifts, for this very reason”, Caban said.
“The quality of the passengers has gone down over the last couple of weeks, and I know a lot of drivers will agree with me”.
As he opens the door, he hits Mr Caban from behind, slapping him around the head and pulling his hair.
The driver eventually used pepper spray to defend himself.
He accuses the suspect of being too drunk and tells him the ride is over.
“I turned around and emptied as much of that spray as I could into his face until he got out of the vehicle”, he said. ‘You got maced, motherf*****’.
“Safety is a big concern in the driver community and I wanted to show other drivers what happens”, he said. There is also a rating system for riders, but that’s not enough to make a few drivers feel safe.
Caban has a camera in his vehicle because he says he’s faced unruly passengers before and uses the footage as evidence.
Advertisement
The passenger was reportedly arrested shortly after.
