The Ride From Hell: Cab Passenger Says Driver Watched Videos While On Road, Swung At Her

UPDATED 11/07/19 10:10 p.m.

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A passenger said she experienced a ride from hell after describing what happened when she told her cabbie to stop watching Netflix while driving.

Things got a little intense when CBS 2's Charlie De Mar went after the cab company.

From the back seat of the Blue Cab Company car, cruising toward Orland Park on Tuesday, Tara Heine recorded her bumpy ride.

Heine started recording after the driver was apparently more interested in binge-watching TV shows than keeping her eyes on the road.

"The driver got on the expressway, and she pulls out her telephone and was watching Netflix on it," Heine told De Mar.

Looking out the car window, you can see Heine and her driver hauling down the expressway, while a show is apparently playing on the driver's phone.

"I let her know I didn't feel safe, and I asked her to put her phone away, which she did for a few seconds," Heine said.

But later, the video shows the driver swatting her hand and saying: "Get that f***ing camera out of my damn face! Have you lost your damn mind?"

"You just swung at me, really?" Heine says in the video.

"No, I didn't swing at you," the driver says.

Heine then says she is calling the police.

To that, the driver says: "Get out. While you call the police, get out," and repeats the order with expletives.

"She caught me recording her, so she turned around and then she swung at me," Heine told De Mar.

Over the phone, a Blue Cab Employee said the dispute was due to Heine and the driver disagreeing on which show to watch together.

"That defense is definitely ridiculous," Heine said. "I do have my own Netflix account."

So CBS 2's De Mar stopped by Blue Cab Company to get a further explanation. This is what happened there:

De Mar: "We called a little bit earlier about an incident with one of the drivers yesterday, about watching videos."

Cab Company Rep: "I know nothing about it. Do you know what time it is?"

De Mar: "I do."

Cab Company Rep: "Then good, our owner's gone."

De Mar: "OK. I've been trying to get a hold of him though."

Cab Company Rep: "Well, I don't know what to tell you. You need to call when he's here."

De Mar: "I did. That's why we're here now."

Cab Company Rep: "I don't know anything about it. No clue."

De Mar: "OK, about a driver watching videos?"

Cab Company Rep: "I have no clue."

De Mar: "Do you know if the driver was…"

Cab Company Rep: "I wasn't working when it happened. I'm not the owner. I don't know anything."

De Mar: "Got it. Do you know if the driver was disciplined?"

Cab Company Rep: "I… don't… know… anything."

Back in the car, Heine tried getting some answers for herself.

"Should you be watching TV while you're transporting medical patients?" she asked the driver.

The driver replied yes, "because your nosey a** wants to know."

We asked the company the same thing.

De Mar: "Is it policy – are the drivers allowed to watch videos while taking passengers?"

Cab Company Rep: "You have to talk to the owner. Why is this difficult? Bye."

Again, we did call and left a voicemail for the owner during business owners, and we did not get a call back by airtime Wednesday night. The passenger says she does plan on filing a police report.

UPDATE: The day after our report aired, we did hear back from the cab compay owner, who was "appalled" at the driver's actions on the video. He said he plans to use the video, and CBS 2's story, to train current and future drivers.

The driver in the video is no longer with the company.