A hospital-bound man unleashed a torrent of punches on his Lyft driver last week, apparently enraged that the ride share employee would not—or, more realistically, could not—go faster.
According to police, the attack occurred around 6:40 p.m. on Thursday, near 30-90 33rd Street in Astoria. In dashcam footage shared with NBC New York, the unruly customer can be seen entering the vehicle with a woman, lying down with his head in her lap for nearly seven minutes as driver Eduardo Madiedo ferries them to Mount Sinai Queens. The man appears actively upset, restlessly switching positions in the backseat and groaning as if in pain. He then removes his jacket and, shirtless and moaning to himself, commands Madiedo to "drive faster, please man." Madiedo replies that he can't get around the cars in front of him, eliciting backseat driving tips and expletives from the passenger.
"Excuse me, man, if you're going to be disrespectful, I'll just pull over right now," Madiedo tells the unidentified man, who suddenly jumps up and starts clobbering Madiedo, repeatedly hitting him in the head and neck as he screams profanity, something along the lines of "you f*cked up."
The woman accompanying the man tries to calm the man down, shouting "George! George!" and grabbing at his arm as he clambers up onto the center console to get a clearer shot. Madiedo—still driving during the assault—eventually manages to pull over and the passengers exit the vehicle, the agitated man reaching through the open driver's side window to get in one final blow.
Madiedo was not hospitalized for his injuries, but told NBC New York he may give up Lyft driving for good. "I just felt like, less than human almost," he said.
Police are currently looking for the passenger, who has reportedly been banned from using the car service.
