Uber Driver Carjacked, Passengers Robbed At Gunpoint On Lake Shore Drive
CHICAGO (CBS) -- An Uber driver was carjacked on Lake Shore Drive early Tuesday, and his two passengers were robbed at gunpoint.
Police said it happened around 2 a.m. as the driver was picking up two passengers at the 31st Street Harbor. A car stopped in front of them, and two people got out, carrying handguns.
"It was kind of like this can't be happening to me. It was like an unreal feeling. This never happens to me, you know? Nothing like that; I've never been in a dangerous spot like that, or anything, and I just couldn't believe that was really going down," he said. "I see the guns, but I'm not panicking or anything, but it's just not real enough in my mind at the time to where I can decide where I'm going to back up and get out of here."
The driver, 63-year-old Roy Smith, said one of the robbers pointed a gun at his chest, leaving him no choice but to give up his car.
Smith said he asked the robbers if he could take his medication, since he recently had a kidney transplant. They allowed him to do so before stealing his checkbook and his 2015 Ford Fusion. They also stole one the wallet of one of his passengers.
Police said one of the suspects hopped in the driver's seat and began pulling away while one passenger was still getting out, causing that man to fall and hit his head.
The injured passenger was taken to Mercy Hospital and Medical Center for a small cut to his head. He was in good condition.
No one was in custody.
Smith, a father of four and grandfather of five, said once he gets his car back, he wants to drive for Uber again. He said this was his second close call as an Uber driver since he started in October, but he's not afraid.
