Fighting Uber rider hit and killed after jumping highway divider, California cops say
A California Highway Patrol officer driving on a Los Angeles-area freeway struck and killed a disgruntled Uber passenger early Monday, according to authorities.
CHP said the rider had been arguing with another passenger when he got out of the westbound car, jumped the concrete median divider on U.S. 101 and ran across the eastbound lanes, where he was struck by an officer responding to the ride-sharing driver’s 911 call around 3:30 a.m., the Los Angeles Times reports.
“CHP dispatch received a call of an Uber driver in distress,” said CHP Officer Weston Haver, according to NBC Los Angeles. “Two parties in that vehicle were involved in a physical fight.”
Authorities pronounced the man dead at the crash scene, FOX 11 reported. He was not identified but authorities said he was in his 30s, according to NBC.
Authorities said the CHP car’s windshield shattered in the crash, but the driver wasn’t seriously hurt, KABC reports.
The fatal collision closed down a portion of the highway — snarling traffic in the San Fernando Valley — for hours after the 911 call, until the stretch reopened around mid-morning, according to the Times.
The Uber involved was a black Honda Civic, which had stopped in the freeway’s fast lane during the fight, CBSLA reports.
This story was originally published October 14, 2019 at 1:44 PM with the headline "Fighting Uber rider hit and killed after jumping highway divider, California cops say."
