Zion Uber driver beaten, robbed, shot at by group just hours before another attack, police say
'I could have been killed today,' one driver, a father of 5, told ABC7
ZION, Ill. (WLS) -- A gun to the back of his head and then, a beating to his face.
An Uber driver described what happened to him when he was robbed in Zion early Tuesday.
"I got lucky. I got lucky. I could have been killed today. I have five kids," the driver said.
The driver, who chose to remain anonymous, said he has been driving for Uber since 2017 as a secondary job to support a big family. Around 1 a.m., he went to a pick up at a home near the 2400 block of Galilee Avenue.
"As I was waiting for the customer, four people came," the driver said.
The driver said the passenger in the front seat immediately put a gun to his head, while the back seat passengers beat him. The victim's phones were taken, and he sped away as the four suspects managed to jump out of the car.
"I turned around, and I tried to go fast, and they were right in the middle of the road. They probably thought I was trying to run them over, and they starting shooting at me," the driver said.
Fortunately, the Uber driver was not hit with gunshots. Because his phones were gone, and he relies on the GPS, the driver felt stranded until he flagged down a police officer, who was responding to a call of shots fired. Zion police said it took well over an hour for Uber to release any information to police about who requested the ride.
"Even Zion Police Department was surprised Uber wasn't sharing information with them," the driver said.
Eventually, Uber was able to share information with police. However, it was not in time to prevent a female Uber driver from being robbed by the same suspects two hours later, one block away from the first robbery. On Tuesday, detectives canvassed the area, looking for leads.
In a written statement, Uber said it is working with police and has removed the riders' access to the app.
While the company said its response time to police was an hour, the male victim driver said it wasn't quick enough. He said every driver should have a panic button in their vehicles in case their phones are stolen.
