Police: Uber Driver Hits Passenger With Bat After Being Told He's Going Wrong Way
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MEMPHIS (CBS Local) - An Uber driver in Tennessee didn't react too kindly to being told he was driving the wrong way and wound up allegedly hitting his passenger with a baseball bat, police say.
According to Memphis police, John Pearson called for an Uber ride home on May 31. When driver Juan Magdalenas arrived, Pearson claimed the ride turned rocky from the beginning.
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"When the Uber driver got there, he was a little agitated. He asked me if I was going to throw up in his car," Pearson said, via WREG. Things reportedly went downhill quickly when the customer told the 44-year-old driver he was going in the wrong direction.
"I said, 'Hey man, I live the other direction,' and he said, 'Get out! Get out of my car! Get another Uber!'" After Magdalenas left his passenger at a local car wash, Pearson admits to kicking the car's bumper, which triggered the driver's attack.
"He slammed on his brakes and immediately got out an aluminum baseball bat and came and swung at me, and I put my arm up to block it and he smashed me on my wrist," Pearson explained.
"This is a regrettable and concerning incident. The driver was removed from the app and we are looking into the matter," Uber said in a statement on June 5. The five-star rated customer says Uber should be doing more after learning that Magdalenas has allegedly been connected to multiple assaults in the past.
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Magdalenas claims that there was no assault and that the two only argued during the trip.