Advertisement

Uber driver charged with assault on bicyclist in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A driver for the ride-sharing service Uber was charged with felony assault on Monday over accusations he ran over a bicyclist in retaliation for an altercation near the bustling Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, authorities said. Emerson Decarvalho, 38, was charged with felony assault with a deadly weapon and faces arraignment in San Francisco Superior Court on Tuesday, according to Alex Bastian, a spokesman for the San Francisco district attorney. Decarvalho, who resides in the San Francisco suburb of Daly City, had been driving in the same direction as a bicyclist on a busy street near the tourist hub of Fisherman’s Wharf on Sunday afternoon, said Officer Carlos Manfredi of the San Francisco Police Department. “The cyclist rode up to the vehicle passenger side window. yelling at driver and banging on window swearing at him. Then he pushed his mirror in,” Manfredi said. “During the exchange, the cyclist sped up, the [motorist] also sped up, striking the back of the bike.” The cyclist was hospitalized with a punctured lung, broken ribs and broken clavicle, police said. Investigators were working to learn what prompted the exchange, Manfredi said. “This is an area concentrated with tourists, cars, bikes and transit. Share the road. Whenever you think road rage might occur, think before you do something before you pay the price and go to jail for it.” Kate Downen, spokeswoman for San Francisco-based Uber, said the company was looking into details of the incident and had contacted police to offer assistance. There was no passenger in the car at the time, Downen said. The company does not disclose how long its drivers have been driving for it, but all drivers are subject to a code of conduct, she said. (Reporting by Emmett Berg; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Eric Walsh)