DeKalb County

Uber driver says men pistol-whipped him, stole car

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A veteran who served in Afghanistan told Channel 2 Action News that two men robbed him while he was driving for Uber.

Now he's struggling to move forward.

The victim walked Channel 2’s Carl Willis through the moments the men pistol whipped him and took his car.

So far there have been no arrests after the combat vet said the guy in the backseat and sitting shotgun held him up at gunpoint, posing as Uber customers. %

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Bentley Simpson told Willis he was driving for Uber Saturday night when he was carjacked.

"I haven't really felt this angry-slash-paranoid feeling since I’ve returned from Afghanistan," Simpson said.

He walked Willis through the painful experience.

"I felt a strike on the back of my head and I saw in my peripheral like a gun and I felt something against my head," Simpson told Willis.

He said it was two males who had requested to be taken to Martin Road, but two minutes into the trip made him pull over on Post Road Pass and lie face down on the street.

"Honestly, I was just praying, and I had a picture of my daughter in my head and my kids," Simpson said.

The men took his phone, watch, wallet and car. He ran to what turned out to be the home of a sheriff's deputy for help.

After a process he describes as lengthy and frustrating, Simpson’s OnStar system disabled the car on Glenmar Drive, but the suspects got away.

"I guess there was a string of them,” Simpson said. "I know there was more than one person that went through what I had."

According to the police report, another Uber driver was carjacked earlier Saturday morning and officers believed they spotted that car in the same neighborhood.

Simpson wants his story to be a message to drivers.

"To warn other people and especially in that area and doing what I do,"

Willis asked Simpson if the Uber app was able to help police locate the suspects.

He said it just comes back as James. He hasn't heard from investigators so he's not sure if that is a solid lead.

Uber driver carjacked, pistol-whipped

He served 18 months in Afghanistan but says this was one of the scariest experiences of his life. http://2wsb.tv/1LrErnaHow he recovered his car and his warning for fellow drivers, on the Channel 2 Action News Nightbeat at 11.

Posted by WSB-TV on Wednesday, March 16, 2016