Uber Driver Lets Passenger Drive His Car, Takes A Nap And Wakes Up In The Middle Of A Police Chase

When Philadelphia Uber driver, Corey Robinson, 43, accepted a ride from his passenger, 20-year-old Juan Carlos, a Bronx resident, little did he know that the ride would end up with him earning a suspension from Uber.

On Saturday, April 2, Carlos hired Uber driver Robinson to take him on a 275-mile, five-hour long trip from Philadelphia to Herkimer, where he wanted to visit a college. Nothing unusual here. However, Corey Robinson, in the middle of the trip, asked his passenger if he would like to have a go at the steering wheel since he was very tired and wished to take a nap.

“I was getting really sleepy and started swerving on the road, so I asked him to drive,” Robinson, who also works part-time as a plumber, told The New York Post onTuesday.

The car was a 2016 Hyundai Sonata rental. Carlos readily agreed. Happy at the prospect of getting a few hours worth of nap, the Uber driver went into a deep slumber with his trusty passenger at the wheels – only to wake up a few hours later in the middle of a police chase!

According to officials, the 20-year-old Carlos started over speeding once he was at the wheels. State troopers monitoring southbound traffic on Interstate 81 near Binghamton confirmed that they clocked Carlos driving the car at 86 mph in a 65 mph zone at around 5:35 a.m. in the morning. A police chase ensued after the troopers tried to stop Carlos and he refused to budge and headed north.

Meanwhile, with all the commotion going around, the Uber driver woke up and asked Carlos what is going on and why he was driving so fast – to which he calmly replied that they were being chased by the police. Sensing trouble, Robinson asked Carlos to pull over immediately. The young driver was, however, in no mood to stop.

“I thought the car was leaving the ground. I told him to stop the car, and he said, ‘the police are chasing us.'”

“I just kept telling him to ‘stop the car, stop the car, stop the car!’ He said he was going to stop, but then he just started speeding up.”

According to cops, Carlos then took the state Route 17 eastbound exit and was showing no signs of slowing down. He then took the North Road exit after which state troopers lost sight of the car. However, only a few minutes later, they saw the vehicle had crashed into a guardrail on Sanitaria Springs Road in the Town of Colesville. The crash led to the Sanitaria Springs Fire Department responding to the scene. Both Carlos and Robinson suffered minor injuries and were given first aid. They were later taken to UHS Wilson Medical Center in Johnson City by Broome and Colesville Volunteer Ambulance Services where they were treated for minor injuries and released. Both the men were later handed over to the police.

Following an investigation by the police, Juan Carlos was charged with third-degree unlawfully fleeing a police officer, driving without a license, and a host of other traffic violations. This has been confirmed by the New York State Police. The Uber driver, Robinson was released without any charges.

However, when local newspapers contacted Uber for a comment, they confirmed that both the men have been suspended from using their service – meaning Robinson would not be able to work for Uber and Carlos will not be able to hire an Uber cab using the account which he booked the now famous ride. Uber also confirmed that they are reaching out to the authorities to offer any assistance they might require to complete their investigation.

The Uber driver says his car was totaled in the crash and that he now regrets letting his passenger take the wheels. He also suffered a shoulder injury.

“I’m so sorry I did it.”

Robinson also added he wants to take legal action against Carlos, who Robinson says was laughing after the crash.

“I don’t know what he was laughing at.”

[AP Photo/Eraldo Peres]