Drunk Uber Passenger Attacks Driver: Alleged Drunk Gets Pepper-Sprayed In Return [Video]

Recent and popular advice among those who enjoy going out for a drink or two, or three, or more is to leave your car keys behind and to take advantage of the recent phenomenon called, Uber, to safely transport you to your different drinking destinations and, ultimately, home.

While safe advice, not even Uber can protect a potentially angry and violent drunk from themselves. Nor can an Uber driver always expect their drinking passengers to be exclusively happy and helpful imbibers.

These two drunken Uber elements came to a head on Friday night — the night before Halloween, in Costa Mesa, California about 40 miles south of Los Angeles — mixing the perfect cocktail of a drunken Uber passenger with an annoyed Uber driver, then shaking the concoction into a violent confrontation that was captured by the Uber driver’s dash-cam, reported the Orange County Register.

The violent video of the brouhaha between the allegedly, and seemingly, drunk Uber passenger and fed up Uber driver can be seen below.

When Uber driver Edward Caban, 23, picked up an allegedly highly-intoxicated Benjamin Golden, 32, to give him a safe ride home to the neighboring city of Newport Beach, the video shows that the relationship between the purportedly drunk Golden and the driver, Caban, started off pleasant enough.

Caban’s frustration with his apparently drunk passenger becomes apparent as the seemingly tipsy Golden fails to give Caban reasonable directions to his Uber destination.

“Dude, you gotta give me directions,” says Uber driver Caban.

“Why do I have to give you directions?” slurs the Uber passenger. “I did give you directions. (I put my address) in the phone.”

“No, no you didn’t. You refused to,” says the Uber driver. “The (only) address I got was the Black Knight,” the Costa Mesa night spot from which Caban had apparently picked up Golden.

Hiccups can also be heard as the allegedly drunk Uber passenger argues with the Uber driver, with the passenger saying, “You better turn your a** around,” a comment that seems to be the straw that breaks the Uber-camel’s back. Caban limits his participation in any more conversation with his passenger.

Skip ahead to approximately the two-minute mark in the video and we get our first look at the Uber driver and his slumping, purportedly drunk passenger. Uber driver Caban flips his camera around on himself and Golden.

The drunk Uber episode then literally takes a turn for the worse as Uber driver Caban proceeds toward a parking lot to terminate Golden’s Uber ride. Golden, obviously not belted in, falls over in the back seat.

“Alright, man, I gotta kick you out,” says Uber driver Caban as he comes to a stop in a lighted parking lot near Costa Mesa’s Triangle Square. “You’re too drunk to give me directions, man.”

The suspected drunk passenger suddenly perks up, pleading with the Uber driver to take him to Park Newport.

But, the Uber driver has clearly had enough.

“I’m giving you the directions to Park Newport,” says Golden.

“I’ve already ended the trip,” responds Caban.

“[Well, I mean,] give you a new trip,” stumbles Golden.

Caban refuses, finally telling his allegedly drunk passenger to get out of his car or he will call the police.

This threat finally seems to leave Golden resigned to the fact that his Uber trip is, indeed, over. Suddenly coming to life from what previously seemed to be a drunken stupor, the banished Uber passenger attacks the driver, hitting him hard several times in the head before the Uber driver turns the tables with an apparent Uber defense strategy of pepper-spraying his attacker. Caban’s defense strategy reportedly proved very effective, stopping the attack and ultimately left the Uber attacker impotent and vomiting.

Please be warned the video below of this Uber incident contains violence and offensive language.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtJVbsHIj9o

The allegedly drunken Uber incident took place surprisingly early in the evening, around 8 p.m at 1835 Newport Blvd.

Pepper-sprayed Uber passenger Golden was taken into custody on suspicion of assault and disorderly conduct. He was booked and incarcerated at the Costa Mesa Police Department with bail set at $500.

While calling Uber is a very good idea if one plans to imbibe, being in control of one’s actions is still paramount.

[Images by Edward Caban via YouTube]