Rideshare driver shot while dropping off passengers in Chicago's North Lawndale neighborhood
A rideshare driver was shot while driving in Chicago's North Lawndale neighborhood on Monday night.
Police said the 42-year-old driver was dropping off passengers around 10:30 p.m. when he was shot in the leg on the 1300 block of South Central Park Avenue.
Video at the scene showed a bullet hole in the driver's side door.
The victim drove himself to Mt. Sinai Hospital in good condition and was later released.
The rideshare driver said that he heard a pop and then felt pain in his leg. He did clarify that it wasn't any of the passengers who shot him, but that the gunfire came from outside of his car.
He said that he was told by doctors that, for now, the bullet will have to stay in his leg.
This shooting comes two months after Uber driver Jassen Cho and his passenger, Damarion Johnson, a Christ the King Jesuit College Prep student, were killed in East Garfield Park when an SUV pulled up alongside them, and someone inside opened fire.
The driver in Monday night's shooting says he's been driving for six years and has never had a situation like this happen, but he is concerned about getting back on the app.
The Illinois Drivers Alliance said in a statement, "The job of a rideshare driver is unacceptably dangerous. Drivers face serious safety concerns every day and urgently need the ability to negotiate for stronger safety protections through a union. While unionization cannot prevent crime, it gives drivers a collective voice to bargain over meaningful safety measures and protections that can help make their jobs safer. These tragic incidents underscore the need for rideshare companies to work with drivers to address the risks they face on the job."
Attorney Bryant Greening, who specializes in rideshare cases, says that violence against rideshare drivers is happening often, and those cases are likely underreported because drivers fear coming forward or fear being deactivated if they cancel too many rides.
"Ultimately, it comes down to pairing safe drivers with safe passengers, and Uber and Lyft and the rideshare companies are the ones who are best armed with the information about who is safe, who has a reputation for safety, who has acted badly on the app before. So the companies need to do everything they can to share that information with all parties, so that people can make informed decisions about which rides they want to accept, and which rides might just be too risky," Greening said.
A spokesperson for Uber said in a statement, "We are horrified by this senseless violence. Our thoughts are with the driver, and we've reached out to check in as they recover. We're in contact with the Chicago Police Department, and will assist them however we can."
Drivers and passengers can use the Uber app to file an incident or accident report or through its Safety Incident Reporting line. Other safety tools they offer include GPS tracking, rider verification measures, trip sharing, in-app emergency assistance, and access to safety support.
As of Tuesday, Chicago police did not say if they have anyone in custody for the shooting. They did say that Area 4 detectives are investigating.
