Massachusetts

Uber Driver Takes Wrong Turn, Tells Elderly Couple to Leave Car

A short Uber ride home from a dentist appointment in Dedham, Massachusetts, turned out to be a traumatic one for 87-year-old Maya Kayserman of Needham and her 88-year-old husband, Isak.

Maya Kayserman says the ride was a straight shot on Highland Avenue. She questioned the driver when he took a turn.

"I don't know why. When he goes in one place and I ask, 'Why are you going this way, because this road is straight?'" she said.

That's when the elderly couple says they were asked to leave the car mid-trip.

"He told me 'traffic.' There was not one car on the road. He didn't talk to me and I didn't talk to him. Suddenly, he stopped the car and told me to go out."

"All of a sudden, I get a call from this Uber driver who's telling me that 'Your mother is telling me where I should drive, she's being combative, and I'm going to ask her to leave my car,'" said her son, Mark Kayserman. "I told him, 'Man, you're out of your mind.'"

Mark Kayserman, who often books Ubers for his parents for their various appointments, told them to stay in the car, and that he'd come pick them up.

"He told me sit in the car and don't go out, and then suddenly come the police," said Maya Kayserman.

She says that Needham Police officer brought them home.

"I didn't understand, but she was so nice," Kayserman recalled. "I didn't understand why she come. She told me, 'I'll take you home.'"

The driver only goes by "William."

"We regret this situation and have been in touch with the rider and her son," Uber told NBC10 Boston in a statement. "We take incidents like this seriously and will take the appropriate action."

The fiasco caused the couple to miss their eye doctor appointment in Brookline.

Their son says the driver was only concerned about his driver rating, and he wants something done.

"I want Uber to finish the investigation, and if the outcome of the investigation is anything less than suspending this Uber driver from being able to operate the vehicle, I'll be really disappointed," said Mark Kayserman.

The couple hasn't taken an Uber since.

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