Uber Driver Wakes From Nap To Find Passenger Leading Cops On High-Speed Chase

Image courtesy of Alan Rappa

A lot can happen when you take a nap on the job, as one Uber driver found out when he fell asleep while taking a passenger on a 200-mile ride. He awoke to find the car in the middle of a police chase, with his customer at the wheel.

A Bronx man hired an Uber on Saturday in Philadelphia to take him 200 miles to central New York, reports PIX-11. According to state police, at some point the driver asked his passenger to take over driving duties so he could indulge in a snooze.

When the Uber driver woke up, he asked the passenger-turned-chauffeur why he was driving so fast — police later said he was clocked going 86 mph in a 65 mph zone — the man had a simple answer: because police were chasing them.

A state trooper said he’d tried to stop the speeding car, but that the man refused to stop, CBS New York reports.

The runaway passenger crashed the car soon after, with both he and the Uber driver suffering minor injuries.

The passenger was charged with fleeing police and driving without a license.

“Both the driver-partner and rider have been suspended from the platform while we look into the matter. We are reaching out to the authorities to assist in their investigation,” an Uber spokesperson told Consumerist in an emailed statement.

In other recent “while you were sleeping” news, a truck driver charged with delivering Burger King Whoppers to a distributor woke up from a nap to find a thief had stolen 33 cases of burgers.

Rider crashes Uber car during police chase, while driver takes nap: police [PIX-11]
Police: Bronx Man Hires Uber Car, Crashes It Amid Cop Chase After Driver Takes Nap [CBS New York]

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