San Diego police on the lookout for a pursuit suspect who slammed into a rideshare driver transporting passengers in Barrio Logan Wednesday morning.
Uber driver Ramon Padilla says San Diego Police Department officers first saw the hit-and-run driver doing donuts on Interstate 5 near Cesar Chavez Parkway and a pursuit ensued.
Padilla says the crash was so frightening, it could have ended his Uber career.
"I see the car, he tried to go left then hit me right away," Padilla said.
The collision smashed the front end and activated the airbags. Padilla’s car was totaled.
"When I saw it, I closed my eyes and I waited, then he hit me,” Padilla said.
Padilla says he was driving two passengers to a downtown hotel around 1:30 a.m. He slowed for a red light on National Avenue at Sigsbee Street, not far from Chicano Park.
Local
He says the hit-and-run driver was barreling toward him at 70 to 80 mph and tried to make a left-hand turn off Sigsbee.
“When he hit me it moved me two or three feet on the right side," Padilla said.
He said at the time of the crash officers were a few blocks away. They followed the noise to Padilla's car, but the suspect had already fled the scene.
Driving for Uber is Padilla's second job, but the accident left him questioning whether the extra money is worth it.
“I am scared. You think right away, I am not going to drive Uber no more but you know, accidents happen," Padilla said.
Despite the damage, Padilla and his passengers were not injured.
He was able to give police a description of the hit-and-run driver and his license plate number.
