Photo: WECT.com
There’s always an inherent risk to ride-sharing for both parties involved, but one Uber driver from Wilmington, North Carolina, never imagined someone would try to take his car while he was still at the wheel, driving it.
David Fortin tells WECT 6 News that, until recently, he preferred working for Uber at night. Traffic is lighter than during the day and passengers are plenty, even if they’re occasionally too intoxicated to be able to properly communicate with him. Still, he liked the job.
A few days ago, Fortin picked up a customer that would make him reconsider his stance on late-night shifts. Casey Shaffer told Fortin where he wanted to go, and they set out for it in Fortin’s Hyundai Elantra. At one point, Shaffer asked the driver to pull over. Fortin complied, thinking he was driving another passenger that had had too much to drink and needed a few moments by the roadside, to puke or clear his mind or whatever.
Eventually, Shaffer admitted that he wasn’t feeling ill. Next thing Fortin knew, the passenger had reached out to his emergency brake and pulled it, and then grabbed his arm, asking him to pull over and surrender the car over to him.
Fortin agreed. He brought the Elantra to a full stop and Shaffer came out. This is when the driver took the keys from the ignition and made a run for it. Just like in those silly action thrillers, Shaffer noticed Fortin had taken the keys, so he started chasing him.
The poor driver was running and calling police at the same time, trying to let them know where he was. He believes he ran about half a mile before Shaffer realized he would never catch up to him and gave up.
“It’s just incomprehensible seeing that somebody would be able to do this,” Fortin tells the publication. “It’s something that you think of never happening to anybody.”
Based on Fortin’s description, police picked up Shaffer shortly afterwards and charged him with attempted common law robbery.
A few days ago, Fortin picked up a customer that would make him reconsider his stance on late-night shifts. Casey Shaffer told Fortin where he wanted to go, and they set out for it in Fortin’s Hyundai Elantra. At one point, Shaffer asked the driver to pull over. Fortin complied, thinking he was driving another passenger that had had too much to drink and needed a few moments by the roadside, to puke or clear his mind or whatever.
Eventually, Shaffer admitted that he wasn’t feeling ill. Next thing Fortin knew, the passenger had reached out to his emergency brake and pulled it, and then grabbed his arm, asking him to pull over and surrender the car over to him.
Fortin agreed. He brought the Elantra to a full stop and Shaffer came out. This is when the driver took the keys from the ignition and made a run for it. Just like in those silly action thrillers, Shaffer noticed Fortin had taken the keys, so he started chasing him.
The poor driver was running and calling police at the same time, trying to let them know where he was. He believes he ran about half a mile before Shaffer realized he would never catch up to him and gave up.
“It’s just incomprehensible seeing that somebody would be able to do this,” Fortin tells the publication. “It’s something that you think of never happening to anybody.”
Based on Fortin’s description, police picked up Shaffer shortly afterwards and charged him with attempted common law robbery.
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