A Philadelphia woman’s Uber ride Wednesday evening took a dramatic turn as her driver was shot in the head, causing the vehicle to jump a curb and crash into a utility pole, police said.
The Philadelphia Police Department said the unidentified female passenger, 18, told detectives she heard gunshots and crouched down in the seat to avoid injury when her driver, 34, was struck in the head and subsequently crashed.
“He was driving the 18-year-old passenger when a bullet went into the Honda CR-V, through both headrests and struck him in the head,” Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said. “That’s when the driver lost control, jumped the curb and the utility pole. That’s where it [the vehicle] came to rest.”
“She’s extremely lucky because that bullet missed her by a matter of inches since she was in the back seat when the bullet came through the back window,” Small added at the scene.
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The driver is “not expected to survive” after he was hit with what is believed to be a stray bullet, according to the police. He was unresponsive when police arrived at the scene.
The passenger was still in the back seat, police said.
The vehicle crashed near the intersection of West Lehigh Avenue and North Broad Street.
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Video taken at the scene shows the Honda’s hood partially wrapped around the pole. A bullet hole can also be seen in the black leather headrest of the front seat.
The vehicle had a red air freshener hanging on the rearview mirror and a hands-free phone device was mounted on the dashboard. The back window was smashed.
The woman said the driver was driving appropriately and at the speed limit when the gunshots rang out. She also told police the driver was not erratic and there was no road rage at the time of the shooting.
Police said there were likely six shots and they recovered six shells at the scene.
The CR-V had stickers for both Uber and Lyft on its front window.
