An unhinged Uber passenger slugged, slashed and choked his driver during a terrifying Upper East Side ride over the weekend, officials said.
The 42-year-old Uber operator was driving his passenger on East 62nd Street near York Avenue around 10:30 p.m. Sunday when the attack happened, according to the NYPD.
The suspect suddenly became “irate” and punched the driver and cut him in the face with a metal object, cops said. It’s unclear what sparked the frenzy.
Then the maniac put his hands around the victim’s neck before getting out of the car and fleeing, heading in the direction of the East River, police said.
The brutal attack left the driver with cuts on his face, swelling, bleeding and pain.
No arrests had been made by Tuesday afternoon.
“This malicious attack is extremely disturbing,” an Uber rep said in a statement. “We do not condone violence of any kind, and banned the rider from the Uber platform as soon as their actions were reported to us. We look forward to assisting police in their investigation however we can.”
The city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission also condemned the vicious attack.
“Attacks like this against TLC drivers, who place their trust in the riding public to make an honest living, are unconscionable and intolerable,” Commissioner David Do said. “Anyone with information related to this attack should contact the NYPD immediately.”
The disturbing crime came fewer than two weeks after Jennifer Guilbeault, 23, allegedly unleashed pepper spray in her Uber driver’s eyes, also on the Upper East Side, at the corner of Lexington Avenue and East 65th Street, cops said.
Driver Shohel Mahmud claimed his attacker had a racial motivation, telling her horrified friend she did it because “he’s brown.”
Guilbeault was arrested and released with a desk-appearance ticket, cops said.