Shocking video shows the moment a young woman sprayed pepper spray into the eyes of an Uber driver in Manhattan this week. The woman was arrested and released with a summons.
According to police and footage, Jennifer Guilbeau, 23, was riding in the back of an Uber with another young woman on the corner of Lexington Avenue and East 65th Street on the Upper East Side around 11:20 p.m. on Tuesday when she suddenly attacked the 45-year-old driver.
According to a video circulating on Reddit, Instagram and YouTube, the man in the driver’s seat was on the phone when Guilbeault reached around and sprayed the can in the man’s face.
“What? What? What?” the victim repeatedly yelled and tried to stop Guilbeault, but she held down his arms, the video shows.
When the driver opened the door to try to escape, she sprayed him again, despite her friend’s cries of “Jen, Jen, Jen!”
“Jen, what! What did you do?” the other woman yelled after the driver managed to get out of the car.
“What are you doing now?” I heard the driver say.
Guilbeault got out of the car and looked like a deer in the headlights as his friend continued to ask questions.
“Okay, grab your bags. Let’s go. We have to go,” the other woman finally says, and the video cuts off.
Police said the driver refused medical treatment, citing eye discomfort.
Police said Guilbeault was arrested around 12:45 a.m. Wednesday and charged with third-degree assault, a misdemeanor.
She was given a text summons to appear in court at a later date and released, police said.
Authorities say she has no prior arrests.
Police said the motive for the attack is unclear.
A spokesman for the ride-hailing company told The Washington Post that Guilbeault had been banned from using Uber after the attack.
“The behavior of the rider seen in the video is deplorable. Violence is not tolerated and the rider has been banned from the Uber platform. We will cooperate with law enforcement investigations to the best of our ability,” an Uber spokesperson said in a statement.
