Uber drivers in the news... good and bad

Chicago:
An Uber driver put his concealed carry permit to use Friday night when he pulled a shotgun and opened fire on a man he saw firing a pistol into a group of people on a Logan Square sidewalk, according to prosecutors.

Six blasts from his shotgun injured a 22-year-old man identified as Everardo Custodio.

Custodio suffered wounds to his shin, knee and lower back and was still in Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center on Sunday, when Cook County Judge Peggy Chiampas refused to grant bail on charges of aggravated battery with a firearm and illegal possession of a firearm.

The 47-year-old Uber driver “was acting in self-defense and in the defense of others,” Assistant State’s Attorney Barry Quinn said. Custodio, who lives about a block from the site of the shooting, was the only person injured in the confrontation that happened about 11:50 p.m. in the 2900 block of North Milwaukee Avenue.

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2015/04/20/uber-driver-with-concealed-carry-permit-shoots-gunman-in-logan-square/

San Francisco:
The driver, who police identified as 38-year-old Emerson Decarvalho was arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault with a vehicle shortly after the collision at about 1 p.m. Sunday near the intersection of North Point and Taylor streets.

The 45-year-old victim was biking when he reached out his hand and struck the window of the black four-door Toyota Camry. The Uber driver then retaliated by charging the victim with his car, knocking him off his bicycle and rendering him unconscious.

According to police, the bicyclist suffered a punctured lung, broken ribs and a broken collarbone when the Uber driver purposely struck him, according to police.
http://kron4.com/2015/04/20/police-uber-driver-arrested-for-intentionally-hitting-bicyclist-near-fishermans-wharf/

- by Be For

Read More

grandfather with cancer gets a job with Uber to pay off house, so his daughter and grandkids always have a place to stay

Kenneth Broskey, is still working full-time as an Uber driver and real estate agent in the Detroit area. Broskey told ABC News today he's trying to raise as much money as he can so his daughter, 46, and his two grandchildren, ages 13 and nine, have a place to live when he's soon gone.

"Once I pass away, chances are my daughter, who’s a part-time waitress at a small restaurant will lose the house we live in because she won't be able to afford it anymore," Broskey said. "So I'm doing everything for her and my grandkids at this point. When you find out you're dying, you realize your family and friends are so important."

Thanks to a fateful Uber ride three weeks ago, Broskey met Ronald Gainer and is now $22,000 closer to paying off his family's $95,000 mortgage.

"I was asking him if he liked Uber driving and then he explained how much he loved it because he got to meet new people, and it was also helping him earn extra money before dying because he had head, tongue and throat cancer," Broskey told ABC News today. "I felt super-compelled to help him."

Gainer turned to the owner of a popular barber shop in Detroit for ideas on how to help Broskey, and
Sebastian Jackson, owner of "The Social Club" barber shop, said he got Broskey connected with a communications expert named Karen Dumas in the area, and the three of them worked together to start a GoFundMe account for Broskey this past Monday.

"Uber will continue donating an additional $1 for every rider who uses the promo-code "UberPartnerKen," through April 20th," Anderson added. "Ken is part of the community, and we were so struck by how he's continuing to support his community and family every day even in the face of such challenges."

Broskey said though he's been given an estimated two to 10 weeks left, he feels fine, and he's going to keep driving with the help of morphine pills.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/grandfather-cancer-takes-uber-driving-pay-off-home/story?id=30389188

- by Be For

Read More