A rideshare driver was charged with assault after authorities said she pointed a gun at two passengers during an altercation in her car on Chicago’s North Side early Friday.
Jaleesa Rance, 25, was driving two men, ages 31 and 26, in the 400 block of West Melrose Street in the city’s Lake View neighborhood when they got into an argument at around 2 a.m., according to Chicago police.
During the argument, authorities said Rance pulled out a handgun and pointed it at the men while ordering them to exit her vehicle. After the men got out of the car, she drove away, according to police.
Responding officers found Rance in the 3600 block of North Broadway Street, officials said, and arrested her after the victims, who signed criminal complaints, positively identified her.
Rance, of the 1400 block of Eastwood Drive in suburban Aurora, was charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and one count of unlawful use of a weapon, all misdemeanors, according to police. She has a valid concealed-carry license, officials said.
Authorities did not specify which company Rance was driving for at the time, though a spokeswoman for Uber said they do not have any record of a driver with that name and age associated with the company.
"The safety of the Lyft community is our top priority, and we have a strict no weapons policy for both drivers and passengers," a spokeswoman for Lyft said in a statement, adding that the company had not received reports from users about the incident, nor had they been contacted by police.
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"We have reached out to the passenger and deactivated the driver in question while we look into this matter, and stand ready to assist law enforcement in any investigation," Lyft's statement ended.
