Local rideshare drivers express concerns after passenger was shot during road rage incident
PHILADELPHIA - Local rideshare drivers are reacting to a road rage shooting that left a 20-year-old woman injured after she was hit by a bullet inside a rideshare vehicle over the weekend.
Just after midnight on Saturday, police say a white Hyundai Sonata, operating as a rideshare with the 20-year-old victim, was driving eastbound on Interstate 76 near mile marker 344, which is the Interstate 676 merge.
Police say a black Nissan Altima with New Jersey registration sped towards the Hyundai and attempted to merge in an "unsafe manner" onto 676 east. The driver of the Altima then pulled up alongside the rideshare vehicle, rolled down their window, and fired three shots, striking the victim in her thigh, according to the police.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: State Police: Woman, 20, shot in rideshare during road rage incident on I-76 in Philadelphia
The driver of the Altima immediately fled the scene as the driver of the rideshare vehicle rushed the woman to Thomas Jefferson Hospital. The victim was placed in stable condition, but now, local rideshare drivers are expressing their concerns as they feel responsible for the safety of their passengers.
William Perry is a rideshare driver in Philadelphia who recently installed blue Uber lights on his car with hopes that impatient drivers will spare him the road rage.
"People can understand that I’m working. I cannot speed with every driver getting behind me wanting to speed. I’m out here, eight hours a day, they don’t realize it. I gotta stop, I’m looking for addresses. I can’t afford road rage because I have other customers in the car and I could endanger their lives," said Perry.
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Not only do rideshare drivers fear for their passengers' lives, but they also fear for their own.
"We have families, we have people, we are here, we’re hustling this is like a job for us too as well," said Bangali Konneh, a rideshare driver in Landsdale.
State police say they photographed and processed the rideshare vehicle when they arrived at the hospital. Police are asking the public's assistance in locating the shooter's vehicle, which is a black Nissan Altima with New Jersey registration. The car was last seen fleeing the scene, heading eastbound on I-676.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Pennsylvania State Police.