An Uber passenger jumps into the front seat — and tries to take the car, NC cops say
A North Carolina man was arrested Wednesday after police say he tried stealing from his Uber driver.
Casey Shaffer, 51, is facing an attempted robbery charge, Wilmington Police Department spokeswoman Jennifer Dandron said in an email.
Shaffer was riding in an Uber when he told his driver, David Fortin, to stop and give up his car, according to the police email and an incident report.
“Shaffer pulled the emergency brake on Fortin’s Hyundai Elantra after they crossed a bridge on South College Road,” reported WECT.
When the driver refused to give up his car, “ Shaffer climbed over the backseat into the front seat and forcefully tried to grab the wheel,” Dandron wrote.
Police say Fortin stopped driving, grabbed the keys and ran away. Shaffer “started to get in the car” and found out the keys weren’t there, WECT reported.
“It’s something that you think of never happening to anybody,” Fortin told the station.
Shaffer, who had a $15,000 bond, wasn’t in police custody Thursday morning, Dandron said.
