Misdemeanor charges were filed Thursday against a cab driver accused of kicking two Chicago men out on Lake Shore Drive after they shared a kiss in the backseat.
Mahdi A. Hared was charged with one count of aggravated use of a deadly weapon and one count of battery causing bodily harm in connection with the April 1 incident.
The passengers, Shadi Ramini and Seth Day, said they were in Hared's Blue Ribbon cab at about 10 p.m. that evening when Hared ordered them out of the car after seeing them kiss. They said Hared drove off as Day was getting out of the car.
"He gets tripped up in the car and that’s where he got injured," Ramini told NBC Chicago last week.
Day suffered scrapes and bruises on his arms and torso, and road burn on his lower back.
The men hailed Hared through the ride-sharing service Uber. A company spokesperson said Hared was removed from the Uber platform after the incident was reported.
A manager at the Blue Ribbon Taxi Association, Alex Jelovac, said Hared actually worked for an affiliate of the company but couldn't say which one.
Local
The City of Chicago's Data Portal indicated Hared was still licensed to operate a cab as of Friday morning.
NBC Chicago could not reach Hared for comment.
