Dallas Uber driver punches elderly man after argument over legroom, video shows

DALLAS - Dallas police are investigating after a rideshare driver punched an elderly passenger from behind. 

A surveillance camera captured Wednesday’s attack in the Dallas Design District. The 68-year-old passenger tells FOX 4 it all started as an argument over legroom.       

Surveillance footage obtained by FOX 4 shows a man punching an elderly man in the back of the head Wednesday afternoon.

Suleman Gauba was the passenger. He says his attacker was his Uber driver.

Around 3:20 p.m., video shows an Uber driver in a Chevrolet Malibu arriving to pick up an elderly couple at Market Center Boulevard in Dallas.

Gauba and his wife began to get in the back seats. However, two-and-a-half minutes passed and the car remained there.

Surveillance video then shows Suleman getting out of the car and being punched in the back of his head by the driver before falling to the ground. 

The driver hovered above him while his wife slowly got out of the car, the video shows.

Gauba says he complained to the driver about a lack of legroom and not having enough room in the back seat.

"I cannot sit in the back seat," he said. "Very small place, you know?"

Gauba says that complaint led to the Uber driver canceling the ride and telling him to get out of the car.

"And he said, ‘I’m canceling your ride,’" Gauba said.

The Dallas Police Department says there was an argument before the rideshare driver hit Gauba in the head.

"I just told him, you know, ‘Why are you canceling my ride?’  I don’t know," Guaba recalled. "At that time, my wife told him, ‘I’m calling the cops.’"

The suspect drove away before police arrived.

"I was thinking, you know, what’s happened with me? Why he hit me?" the elderly man said.

Gauba, who is originally from Pakistan, says he moved to Dallas from New Mexico a few years ago. He says he does not own a car and orders Uber rides to get around.

"We wanted to go to the Walmart," he said.

Gauba hopes investigators track down the man who, instead of giving him a ride, gave him a punch to the head.

"Because he deserves this," Gauba said. "He deserves jail."

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Dallas Police Department. 

The elderly couple says they did file a complaint with Uber and have a possible license plate.

"This behavior is unacceptable. Violence of any kind is not tolerated on the Uber platform, and we expect all users to treat each other with respect. We have been in touch with the rider, and have removed the driver’s access to the platform," said Uber in a statement to FOX 4.