Story Archive

Night Shift

Albert Castro, an Uber driver in Sacramento, Calif., said he drives at “bar thirty” — after bars close — “prime time for the freaks,” he said. Castro picked up what “seemed like a normal drunk person,” and got on the freeway to take him downtown. “Five or six minutes into our trip,” Castro said, “he says ‘You ever crashed before? You’re gonna crash’.” In car video shows the passenger, identified by police as Tswj Vang, 32, grabbing the steering wheel and trying to swerve the car. Vang and Castro fought for control until Castro hit the brakes and pressed the Uber panic button, alerting police. According to an Uber spokesman, Vang “can no longer access the Uber app.” Nobody was injured, but this incident has Castro, who is married with eight children, rethinking his career. “It only takes one crazy incident to end somebody’s life,” he said. “The pay is great. Now I have to evaluate whether that’s all worth it.” (MS/Sacramento Bee) ...He could consider driving at “soccer-mom o’clock.”