Photo: mmajunkie.com
Ride-sharing company Uber has fired the driver accused of killing MMA / former pro UFC fighter Rodrigo de Lima on Sunday, following an altercation in Belem, Brazil.
Uber confirms the firing with TMZ Sports, adding that they are doing their bit to help out with the official investigation. At the time the statement came out, the driver was still on the run, with police actively looking for him.
“As soon as we learned of this incident we immediately removed the driver’s access to the app and we stand ready to assist law enforcement with their investigation,” Uber says in the same statement. It adds that the allegations against the driver, identified as Jefferson Roger Maciel, are “horrible.”
The same media outlet notes that de Lima was sharing the ride with friends, when he got into a fight with Maciel for reasons yet to be made public. Maciel kicked the MMA fighter out of the car and initially made as if he was about to drive away.
“Despite initially driving away from the scene, turned around and smashed into Rodrigo from behind. Rodrigo died from his injuries. He's survived by a wife and 2 young children,” TMZ Sports adds. De Lima was only 26 years old.
Further details on what started the fight between victim and suspect have not been made public as of the time of writing – not that they could ever justify the suspect’s violent reaction.
With a boost in popularity and expansion to more territories, Uber has been dealing with criticism regarding the background checks it performs on drivers upon employing their services. A spat of violent incidents, including murder, assault and rape, have forced the ride-sharing company to work towards stricter driver admission criteria and regular background checks.
To put it simply, Uber promises customers safer riders, made possible through a more rigorous scanning process and security checks.
“As soon as we learned of this incident we immediately removed the driver’s access to the app and we stand ready to assist law enforcement with their investigation,” Uber says in the same statement. It adds that the allegations against the driver, identified as Jefferson Roger Maciel, are “horrible.”
The same media outlet notes that de Lima was sharing the ride with friends, when he got into a fight with Maciel for reasons yet to be made public. Maciel kicked the MMA fighter out of the car and initially made as if he was about to drive away.
“Despite initially driving away from the scene, turned around and smashed into Rodrigo from behind. Rodrigo died from his injuries. He's survived by a wife and 2 young children,” TMZ Sports adds. De Lima was only 26 years old.
Further details on what started the fight between victim and suspect have not been made public as of the time of writing – not that they could ever justify the suspect’s violent reaction.
With a boost in popularity and expansion to more territories, Uber has been dealing with criticism regarding the background checks it performs on drivers upon employing their services. A spat of violent incidents, including murder, assault and rape, have forced the ride-sharing company to work towards stricter driver admission criteria and regular background checks.
To put it simply, Uber promises customers safer riders, made possible through a more rigorous scanning process and security checks.
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