A group of drunk Uber passengers assaulted their driver in Arlington, Va., attempted to steal his keys, hit him with a beer bottle and shattered a window.
The Uber driver picked up three intoxicated men Saturday, who began acting out after opening alcoholic beverages mid-ride. When the driver told them to close the containers, the group refused, prompting the Uber employee to pull over so they could ditch the alcohol. This is when the real trouble started, reports NBC Washington.
One of the three men opened a passenger side door and made a move to take the driver’s keys out of the ignition. The driver, who remains anonymous, tried to stop the men, but was immediately attacked by the drunk group.
“I tried to stop him with my hand, then from the other hand he threw the bottle at me on my head,” the Uber driver told NBC Washington. “After that, he started punching me.”
The driver sustained cuts to his face and a bump on his head, and is recovering from the assault. Monday’s Arlington County crime report said police arrested 26-year-olds Justin Allen Norconk and Jeffery Eugene Rowe Jr. and 25-year-old Lance Daniel Ingram for attacking the driver. Arlington County Police charged Norconk with malicious wounding and assault by mob, Ingram with assault by mob and Rowe with destruction of property, reports WUSA9.
“We take this very seriously. No. 1, they shouldn’t have been consuming alcohol in the car, so he is in the right to ask them to refrain from doing so,” Arlington County Police Department Spokesman Ashley Savage told NBC Washington. “And then to violently attack him is absolutely inappropriate.”
Uber said they deactivated the accounts of all three men involved in the assault and will assist police in any way they can. The company has also been in contact with the Uber driver involved in the incident. The three men are being held without bond.
“We have a zero-tolerance policy for all forms of harassment and abuse,” an Uber spokesman told WUSA9.”We’ve been in touch with the driver-partner and stand ready to assist the authorities with their investigation.”
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