CHOMP! Uber driver bit chunk out of would-be carjacker’s eyebrow, prosecutor says
An Uber driver took a bite out of crime this week when he chomped down on a carjacker’s eyebrow during a struggle for control of his car, prosecutors said Friday.
The story will be a tasty treat for rideshare drivers who’ve been frequent targets of Chicago’s legions of hijackers in recent months.
Prosecutors charged the brow-bitten carjacker, Allen Brown, with vehicular hijacking and misdemeanor battery. He also has a juvenile armed robbery case pending, Assistant State’s Attorney Franka D’Antignac said during his bond court appearance Friday.
She said Brown ordered an Uber to take him to the 3500 block of South Cottage Grove around 9 p.m. Wednesday and rode in the seat directly behind the driver.
As they reached their destination, Brown put the 35-year-old driver into a chokehold from behind and ordered him to get out of the car because he was going to take it, according to D’Antignac.
The driver allegedly pulled Brown into the front seat but then decided to step out of the car because he thought Brown might have a gun.
When the driver realized that Brown wasn’t armed, he reached back into the car and began beating Brown as the 18-year-old tried to put the vehicle into drive, D’Antignac alleged.
But, she said, Brown only managed to get the car into neutral, so he had to resort to fighting with the driver, who chomped down on his left eyebrow as they struggled for control of the vehicle.
A private security guard who was working nearby came to the Uber driver’s aid. The guard scuffled with Brown and placed him into custody until police arrived, D’Antignac said.
Brown was taken to a hospital for treatment of the bite wound.
D’Antignac told Judge Susana Ortiz that Brown was adjudicated delinquent for an unspecified juvenile criminal charge last year. He still has unresolved juvenile cases pending for armed robbery and aggravated assault.
Ortiz set bail for Brown at $50,000. He’ll need to post $5,000 to get out of jail on electronic monitoring, she said.