"I have lost so much money on people like him and I'm done dealing with it. They take the food right out of my mouth," exclaims Uber-driver Edward Caban after Benjamin Golden, 32, of Newport Beach repeatedly hit him and pulled his hair, prompting Caban to respond by pepper-spraying the passenger. The distrubing scene, caught on the car's dashboard camera, has led to Golden's arrest (charged with assault) and while Uber has banned him from their service, but as NBC reports, [3] the driver is not satisfied and has quit Uber because he no longer feels safe, "the quality of the passengers has gone down recently."
The anxious driver turns the internal camera around at 2:00, where the passenger can be seen sliding around the back seat and unable to communicate. The driver then decides to end the fare.. and mayhem begins...
"He was grabbing my head and was trying to smash it against the window," Caban told NBC4 in an interview.
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Costa Mesa police responded within minutes to the scene of the fight in the 1800 block of Newport Beach Boulevard.
The customer, 32-year-old Benjamin Golden, of Newport Beach, was still vomiting from the Mace when officers arrived, according to police.
[4]
Uber said it has banned the rider from ever using the ride-sharing platform again.
Caban said Uber offered to reimburse him for cleaning the pepper spray from his car. Nonetheless, he said his days as an Uber driver are over.
"I don't feel safe driving for Uber any more," Caban said. "The quality of the passengers has gone down over the last couple of weeks and I know a lot of drivers will agree with me."
