Uber passenger dies after being hit by car while allegedly chasing driver down Vallejo freeway

article

VALLEJO, Calif. - A Uber passenger was struck and killed by a car in Vallejo after allegedly attacking and chasing his driver down a highway early on Saturday morning.

What we know:

The California Highway Patrol was called around 1:15 a.m. to the eastbound side of I-80, just east of Tennessee Street, by the Uber driver who said he stopped his car on the shoulder after his passenger allegedly "began to verbally and physically assault him," according to a department statement.

The Uber driver exited his car, but the passenger allegedly began to chase him down the shoulder toward Redwood Parkway.

Just before 1:20 a.m., the passenger was struck in the third lane of the freeway by a black Audi sedan driven by a woman who reported that she did not see the passenger until it was too late, according to the CHP.

The Uber passenger – who was identified only as a 50-year-old man from Vallejo – died of his injuries. 

No other injuries were reported in the crash.

The aftermath:

The CHP and officers from the Vallejo Police Department were on the way to the scene at the time of the crash. 

When they arrived, they learned from the Uber driver that the passenger had been picked up from a bar in Benicia and "appeared highly intoxicated."

All traffic on the freeway was briefly stopped as authorities cleared the scene. The second and third lanes were then closed for about an hour afterward as police investigated the collision.

No further details were released.

Editor's note: This article has been updated to reflect that the rideshare driver worked for Uber, not Lyft, as previously reported based on information from CHP. However, CHP later clarified that the rideshare driver initially told dispatchers he was a Lyft driver, but when he spoke with officers, he stated he was an Uber driver and provided information confirming that.