HOUSTON — An Uber driver was brutally attacked by a couple after he tried kicking them out of his car.
The driver, who does not want to be identified, is an immigrant from El Salvador who said he's been driving for Uber for five years without any issues. He said he loved his job but this senseless attack nearly cost him his life.
"You're going to find all kinds of people. The sweetest people and the worst," the driver said. "And you can't expect anything from the worst. The sweet is sweet, sometimes I even get a good tip from the people, but here instead of getting a tip, I got my face like a monster."
The driver said an unknown person requested a man and woman to be picked up at a gas station on Tidwell and the Eastex Freeway. He said the man and woman got in the car and kept changing drop-off locations for nearly 30 minutes. The driver said he eventually decided they needed to get out of his car.
He said he parked at an Exxon on Ella Boulevard at the North Loop and told the man and woman they needed to get out, but they refused.
"I was not doing anything," he said. "I was just trying to do my job and they started to get aggressive."
The driver said they threw him on the ground and started attacking him.
"The guy especially, the guy started kicking my face like it was a football for him," he said. "I couldn't do anything. I was trying to defend myself. I just couldn't do it."
The driver was beaten and left unconscious.
Houston police said the couple stole his wallet before they got in his car and sped off.
"All of a sudden I woke up and said to myself, 'Where am I? What happened,'" the driver explained.
He said he suffered a concussion and multiple cuts and bruises.
"If that guy had a knife or a gun, we wouldn't be talking right now," the driver said.
Police found his car last week at Montie Beach Park but he said he's not ready to get back in the driver's seat.
"Right now, I am anxious," he said. "I am afraid. I don't feel confident in myself. I lost my faith."
The driver is praying for someone out there knows who did this to him.
Anyone who could help police identify the man and woman in the video is asked to contact Crime Stoppers of Houston at 713-222-TIPS. You can also send a tip through the Crime Stoppers website and mobile app. Information leading to an arrest or charges may result in a $5,000 reward.
