New Uber Driver Assaulted After Picking Up Passenger in Stafford

STAFFORD, VA — A 65-year-old Uber driver who had been on the job just three days was assaulted July 20 in the England Run neighborhood after picking up a 16-year-old youth who then turned on him.

During the assault, the victim attempted to flee, hitting several mailboxes in the England Run community. Uber officials helped police identify the suspect, who is now in custody.

Authorities decided not to release the name of the victim, who was treated for injuries to his neck and lower left leg, according to Stafford County Sheriff's Office spokesman M.C. Morris Moncure.

The suspect, 16, was arrested the next day on Shasta Place in England Run and was charged with malicious wounding, strangulation, abduction and attempted robbery. He's being held at the Juvenile Detention Facility.

Police say the victim picked up his passenger near the Beth Sholom Temple on Lyons Boulevard, presumably for a ride to a nearby fast food restaurant on Warrenton Road. Once in the vehicle, the suspect redirected the driver, saying he needed to retrieve something from his residence.

When they arrived at the crime scene, a cul-da-sac on June Court, the suspect began to strike the driver in the head with an in-ground solar light fixture and then began to choke him.