KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — A civil lawsuit has been filed against Uber accusing the company of not responding to complaints against driver Jason Dalton, who went on a mass shooting rampage five years ago around the Kalamazoo area. Altogether, those shootings on February 20th, 2016 left six dead and two injured.
Matt Mellen was a passenger of Dalton’s that day and spoke to WOOD-TV shortly after the incident, saying Dalton was very calm despite extremely erratic driving.
“He was running red lights, squealing the tires. We ran a stop sign and side-swiped another vehicle. That’s when I obviously was panicking.”
Mellen eventually jumped from the vehicle, injuring himself, before he called 9-1-1. He also tried several times to contact Uber, but couldn’t get through. The lawsuit claims the company created a false impression of having a 24-7 response team. When reached, they can deactivate a driver who is threatening the safety of passengers. Uber says the statute of limitations passed years ago and that there is no case.
Dalton continued to give rides throughout the rest of the day, in-between the shootings. He is currently serving life in prison without parole.
