Uber: Denver DUI Driver In Crash Was Not A Registered Employee

DOUGLAS COUNTY, CO -- The Uber ridesharing company is disputing that a Denver driver, convicted of injuring two people in a DUI crash in Douglas County, was registered Uber driver. An Uber spokesman said Brian Haas, 44, had stopped working for Uber three months before the accident in January, 2017.

Uber spokesman Andrew Hasbun said Haas had previously driven for Uber, but his registration with the company had been cancelled in October of 2016, months before the accident.

Brian Haas was sentenced in Douglas County District Court May 4. A jury on March 1 convicted Haas of vehicular assault-DUI; driving under the influence with two or more priors; and careless driving resulting in injury, a statement from the 18th Judicial District Attorney's office said.

Prosecutors had sought a prison sentence.

According to a police report, on Jan. 20, 2017, a woman said she contacted Haas to get a ride home from a grocery store in Aurora. The police report said the woman described Haas as "an Uber driver and she has known him for a few weeks. Tonight she called Hass [sic] to get her so she could take some groceries for her children. She went through the Uber app and contacted Haas."

Hasbun said Uber records showed no contact from either law enforcement or any insurance company about the accident. He said records did not show any pickup at a grocery store in the area in the specified time. Hasbun also pointed out that a specific Uber driver cannot be requested through the app.

A photo of Haas's wrecked Hyundai Elantra from the crash shows an Uber "U" sticker in the front windshield.

With the woman in the front seat of his car, Haas drove eastbound on East Lincoln Avenue in Douglas County, until he tried to turn left onto South Chambers Road, but didn't yield to oncoming traffic that had a green light.

Haas collided with a Lexus SUV driven by a 48-year-old man. The driver of the Lexus received a concussion and some nerve damage in his arm; both Haas and his passenger were taken to Parker Adventist Hospital, where the female passenger was treated for several broken ribs.

Police found that Haas had a blood-alcohol level of 0.228, almost three times the legal limit.

Haas's three-year sentence will be suspended pending successful completion of the three-year community corrections sentence. He was sentenced to 120 days in jail on the DUI count, also suspended. On the careless driving count, the judge sentenced Hass to 10 days in jail; he has already been in jail for 65 days, so no more jail time need be served, the DA's office said.

Haas had a DWAI conviction in Boulder County in 1996 and a DWAI in El Paso County from 1992, the DA's office said.

Hasbun said Colorado law prohibits and driver from working for Uber if they have a DUI conviction in the previous seven years. Haas's most recent DUI conviction was more than 21 years before.

Image via 18th District Attorney's Office