A late-night rideshare pickup outside a Georgia Waffle House erupted into violence early Sunday when an Uber driver allegedly shot a teenage passenger after a heated dispute.
Authorities said the confrontation unfolded around 2:30 a.m. outside the popular 24-hour diner in Dunwoody, a city just north of Atlanta.
Officers said 38-year-old Uber driver Meredith Grundy became embroiled in an argument with a group of five teenage girls after refusing to drive them home, claiming there was not enough room in his vehicle.
According to the Dunwoody Police Department, Grundy told the group that his car could not safely transport all five passengers because there weren’t enough seatbelts.
What began as a disagreement over capacity quickly escalated into a violent confrontation between Grundy and one of the teens.
Investigators said Grundy and the 16-year-old girl began arguing over who should cancel the trip on the Uber app.
During the altercation, the teenager allegedly threatened to kill Grundy and whacked him in the face while he sat inside the car.
Police said it was at that point the driver pulled out a gun and opened fire, striking the girl multiple times in her back and legs.
The teenager was rushed to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, where she was listed in critical but stable condition as of Tuesday.
However, other witnesses in the group told investigators that the victim never physically assaulted or threatened Grundy before the gunfire erupted.
Grundy was taken into custody early Sunday and booked into DeKalb County Jail on charges of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Jail records show he later posted bond. Police have not disclosed the amount.
Sergeant Michael Cheek of the Dunwoody Police Department told local outlet Atlanta News First that the investigation remains ongoing and that detectives are working to determine the exact sequence of events leading to the shooting.
“We’re going to let her medical care get taken care of,” Cheek said. “That’s priority for now.”
An Uber spokesperson described the shooting as “horrifying” and said the company immediately banned Grundy from the platform.
“We removed the driver’s access to the platform and stand ready to support law enforcement with their investigation,” the spokesperson told WANF.
The case adds to growing scrutiny surrounding safety within rideshare platforms.
Just weeks earlier, police in Sandy, Utah, charged a Lyft driver with sexually assaulting a passenger in a separate, unrelated incident.
Authorities said 26-year-old Alejandro Rendon Segovia, a Mexican national, was arrested on September 17 in connection with an August 30 attack involving a 19-year-old woman he had picked up around 4 a.m.
The driver allegedly diverted from the intended route, made two unexplained stops in parking lots, and later sexually assaulted the woman before abandoning her about a mile from her home.
🚨BREAKING: Another illegal alien @lyft driver just arrested for kidnapping and brutally raping a female in Utah. 26-year-old Alejandro Rendon Segovia is a Mexican national and should’ve never been in the U.S.—ICE needs to raid Lyft. pic.twitter.com/ykVYGfYfwL
— Dapper Detective (@Dapper_Det) September 24, 2025
Segovia faces multiple felony counts, including aggravated kidnapping, object sexual assault, and obstruction of justice.
Court filings allege he exploited his role as a rideshare driver to prey on the intoxicated passenger.
“The defendant, in this matter, used his position as a rideshare driver to prey upon the victim who was in an intoxicated state,” prosecutors said in court documents.
According to police reports, Segovia allegedly pretended to end the ride in the app to make it appear the woman had been dropped off, before driving her elsewhere.
When confronted by a relative later, he allegedly began yelling and hitting himself in the face, telling the relative that the victim was “like all the other girls.”
Police said the victim was later treated at a hospital for bruises and abrasions.
When ordered to submit a DNA sample, Segovia initially refused and had to be compelled by court order to comply.
Meanwhile, in Washington state, another rideshare-related case ended with a long prison sentence after a violent altercation turned deadly.
Twenty-three-year-old Alex Waggoner was convicted in September of second-degree murder for fatally shooting Uber driver Abdikadir Gedi Shariiff in Edmonds, just north of Seattle.
Authorities said the shooting took place on the night of January 3, 2024, after Shariiff nearly struck Waggoner while driving.
When the Uber driver stopped to apologize, prosecutors said Waggoner, who had been drinking, drew a gun and shot him without provocation.
Judge Richard Okrent of Snohomish County Superior Court sentenced Waggoner to more than 19 years in prison, rejecting the defense’s claim that the shooting was influenced by online videos about self-defense and gun rights.
“There are lots of videos on gun safety, lots of videos on protecting yourself,” Okrent reportedly said during sentencing.
“Not one video says take out your gun and shoot somebody in the dark when somebody is trying to apologize to you for a mistake.”
