Lyft driver Eduardo Madiedo had picked up two customers in New York City who wanted to go to Mount Sinai Hospital in Long Island City.
A mother with her son who was clearly in some sort of distress laying on his mother’s lap and moaning.
"Oh my god," the male passenger said before the outburst. "I can't wait in traffic anymore."
Lyft driver said he was "scared for his life" after dashcam video captured him being viciously attacked by this passenger in Queens.
The video, captured Thursday, shows a shirtless male passenger repeatedly punching 36-year-old Lyft driver Eduardo Madiedo from the backseat. The passenger then spewed profanities at Madiedo and attempted to climb into the front seat before exiting the vehicle.
The passenger was accompanied by a woman, and for a majority of the video he is seen lying on her lap. He appears to be in pain and moans loudly multiple times throughout the 12-minute ride.
"I respectfully asked them not to disrespect me, or I would end the ride," he said. "I guess that ticked him off, and he just started all of the sudden swinging at me and punching me in the back of the head. I did my best to block it, the hits that he was throwing at me, and trying not to crash my car or hurt anybody on the street. I wear glasses, and when he punched me, he knocked my glasses off. So I was squinting and just trying to get out of a really difficult situation."
A Lyft spokesperson issued the following statement: "Safety is fundamental to Lyft and the behavior described is unacceptable. There is no place for violence of any kind in our community. We have permanently banned the passenger and have reached out to the driver to offer our support. We stand ready to assist law enforcement with their investigation."
Catalano has eight prior arrests, including four for assault.