Lyft passenger photographed violently striking driver

May 29, 2019, 00:50 UTC

By Safia Samee Ali and Caitlin Fichtel

New York authorities are looking for a passenger who violently attacked a Lyft driver during a trip last Thursday.

The driver, Eduardo Madiedo, 36, said he was beaten while driving two passengers to Mt. Sinai Hospital in Astoria, Queens.

The Madiedo dashcam captured the encounter that began after a passenger got into the car with an older woman who was holding him while he was lying in the back seat moaning as his He had been suffering for several minutes.

The passenger then removes his shirt and asks Madiedo to drive faster by cutting in front of the cars in front of him with profane language.

Madiedo warns the passenger, "Excuse me, man, if you want to be disrespectful, I'll park right now", which caused the man to hit Madiedo's head violently while the car was in motion .

"Coming out of nowhere, he started knocking on the back of his head as much as possible," Madiedo told NBC News, adding that he was in the middle of a rush hour and that he was struggling to keep control of the car during the attack. "I wear driving glasses that he hit me in the face."

The video then shows the passenger leaning forward in the effort to sit on the front seat while aggressively grabbing Madiedo's neck as he parked the car.

The woman asks the man, who screams hysterically, to stop and they both get out of the car. Seconds later, the man hits Madiedo again by the window. "He tried to open my door from inside to get me out of the car," Madiedo said.

Lyft said that he definitely banned the man from the carpool application, according to WNBC-TV. The company did not disclose the details of the identity of the man.

"It is unacceptable for a professional pilot to fear being in his work environment. We are grateful that Mr. Madiedo has not been seriously injured and we are confident that his attacker will suffer the consequences of his actions as soon as possible, "said Allan Fromberg, spokesman for the Taxi and Limousine Commission, According to WNBC-TV, it is also important to note that Mr. Madiedo was assaulted while he was communicating a crucial safety message to his two passengers, which makes this violence unjustified all the more disturbing. "

In addition to bumps in the back of the head, bruising and pain, Madiedo said he had not sustained any serious injuries, but that this incident was a "turning point" for him and that He was not sure to continue working as a driver.

"I can not wait to get back to work," he said. "I have to leave in a different direction, this is no longer a sure way to go."

Madiedo said that he shared this heartbreaking video in the hope that it would help apprehend the man who attacked him.

"I want the man to be caught and face the consequences," he said. "If there are no repercussions, everyone can do it."