Video shows passenger assault Uber driver during Charlotte ride

CHARLOTTE — Video shows an Uber passenger attacking Uber driver Osvaldo Rivera on May 3 in Charlotte, and he believes it was racially motivated.

Rivera said he picked up the passenger from a home on Providence Road in south Charlotte.

“When he got in the car, he was drunk,” Rivera told Channel 9. “I saw he was drunk.”

Rivera told the passenger his name, which he tried to pronounce.

“Osvaldo?” the passenger said.

“Yea, Spanish name,” Rivera said.

“Where are you from?” the passenger said.

Rivera said he is from Cuba, which was when the passenger probed for answers.

“Why are you here?” the passenger said.

“Better opportunities here, you know?” Rivera said.

“That shocked me, because nobody asks me that question,” Rivera told Channel 9.

That was when the passenger attacked Rivera and shouted expletives, with some being racial.

“He took my seatbelt, and he tried to choke me with my seatbelt,” Rivera told Channel 9. “He was pulling with his feet behind my seat. He was pulling strong. He was pulling there for about one minute.”

Rivera, who’s driven for Uber for two years, said this has never happened, and it’s what the passenger told him while attacking him that is seared into his memory.

Rivera said the passenger told him, “There you go, boy. Go to sleep.”

The passenger stopped attacking briefly before starting again.

Rivera said the man also assaulted a security guard at the transit center in Uptown.

Channel 9 is not naming the man because he has not been formally charged or arrested.

Rivera and his wife believe he was attacked because of his nationality and want police to do something about it.

“He attacked me because I said I’m from Cuba,” he said. “He heard my accent, and after that, he attacked me. I just want justice. I don’t want anything like this to happen again.”

Channel 9 reporter Glenn Counts spoke with security expert Ross Bulla about what residents could do if they found themselves in a similar situation.

He said any driver in the same situation should stop the car as soon as possible and put some distance between themselves and the passenger.

“If I were the Uber driver, I would have immediately pulled over, exited the vehicle, and called 911,” said Bulla.

Bulla also urged Uber drivers to be more aware of who they are picking up and to make sure they greet the passenger.

“The number one preventive step you can take for crime is to take away anonymity. Greet the passenger, let them know you, and know who they are. Get a camera and a Plexiglas divider; it may not be bulletproof, but it gives you seconds to escape,” said Bulla.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said it is an active investigation and couldn’t comment further.

Channel 9 reached out to the FBI and received this statement:

“While we can’t comment on a specific case, the FBI works alongside the CMPD every day. Those FBI task force officers can evaluate local criminal investigations with consideration of any applicable federal laws.”

Uber said they suspended the passenger from using its ride service.

If you would like to help Rivera and his family bring the alleged assailant to justice, click here.

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