Man Hits Uber Driver With Umbrella During Ongoing Ride, Carjacks Him; Arrested

KEY POINTS

The suspect forced the driver out of the car and drove off
He left the driver stranded in the middle of road without his phone
The suspect’s friend alerted cops about a “suspicious” vehicle which led to his arrest

A man was charged after he hit an Uber driver with an umbrella in the middle of a ride and carjacked him, leaving him stranded on Interstate 195 in Miami, Florida.

The incident took place just before 5:30 p.m. Monday evening when the Uber was driving on the I-195 ramp to northbound Interstate 95, according to Local 10. At some point during the ride, the suspect, identified as 30-year-old Rafael Dos Santo Barbosa, a Brazilian national residing in California, ordered the Uber driver to pull over the vehicle and then hit him with something that felt like a metal object, the victim told cops.

The driver said he was forced to stop the car, a blue Hyundai Tucson, and just as he got down from it, Barbosa shifted to the driver’s seat and drove off. Barbosa left the Uber driver stranded on the “dangerous” westbound ramp without his phone, NBC Miami reported, citing an arrest affidavit.

According to the arrest report filed by the Florida Highway Patrol, the Uber driver picked up Barbosa at Mount Sinai Hospital. During the investigation, FHP officials also learned that Barbosa was taken to the hospital in a “disoriented” state after a Surfside Police officer responded to a sick person call.

Police arrested Barbosa after his friend alerted them upon seeing him pull up at her residence in the car, which made her suspicious.

While responding to the scene, FHP officials found Barbosa talking to Miami-Dade Police, who had been called to the address over a suspicious vehicle. The vehicle Barbosa was driving was later confirmed to be the one he carjacked from the Uber driver.

Police also found a small umbrella inside the car, which authorities believed Barbosa used to batter the driver.

The accused reportedly told deputies that the driver was going in the wrong direction, and didn’t stop until he “raised his voice.” The identity of the driver was not revealed by the authorities.

Barbosa was charged with carjacking, aggravated battery, second-degree armed grand theft, and third-degree grand theft. He was taken to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center without bond and was kept on an immigration hold.