Oregon Man Assaults Uber Driver, Steals His Car

Somewhere the folks at Craigslist are snickering, perhaps?

Police in Tigard, OR arrested a drunken belligerent man after he allegedly assaulted the driver of a Uber car who was giving him a ride, then stole his car.

Authorities say 31-year-old Collin Lyle was getting a ride with the popular citizen taxi service from Tigard, to Portland OR, when the trip turned into an assault. Lyle was allegedly intoxicated, and get into a confrontation with Lyle getting verbally and physically abusive said the driver.

When he stopped at a convenience store to get help, Lyle jumped behind the wheel and sped off. Authorities then received a call about a drunk driver crashing into a curb, not far from the convenience store. Evidence at the scene led officers to a nearby home, where Lyle was found and arrested.

He's now in the Washington County, OR jail, on various charges, including DUI, reckless endangerment and other issues.

Uber is a popular, growing West-coast originated citizen taxi service. It began in San Francisco, and allows private citizens to utilize their vehicles as a taxi service. Uber came into existence in part as a grass-roots effort to counter what many commuters felt were rising taxi and other public transportation costs.