PICTURED: California Lyft driver is beaten with a microphone stand by a DJ for telling him he couldn't fit his equipment in the backseat
A California Lyft driver was left with a huge gash on his forehead after a local DJ bashed him in the head with a microphone stand when he wasn't allowed to put his equipment in the sedan's backseat.
Lyft driver Ye Lu shared a photo of his bloodied forehead after a brutal injury that required six stiches.
Lu told CBS Los Angeles that he was assaulted outside a bar in Jurupa Valley in the early hours of August 1 as he was picking up the passenger, identified by cops as Mark Trunko.
Lyft driver Ye Lu shared a photo of his bloodied face after a brutal injury that required six stiches
Lu was transported to the hospital following the attack and the gash on his forehead required six to seven stiches
Nearly two weeks after the attack Lu's forehead wound has healed and stiches have been taken out but he has not gone back to driving out of fear
The Lyft's dash camera captured the entire incident, starting with Lu pulling up to Fabio Bar before telling Trunko he could not fit his belongings in the back seat and that it would not fit in the trunk.
Trunko had finished up a set at Fabio hours earlier, according to the bar's owner.
'My trunk is small, you need to call an XL,' Lu was captured telling the rider off camera
Trunko tells Lu, 'If I can't use the backseat you're going to get fired,' and seconds later Lu is heard grunting and yelping as he is apparently being beaten by the DJ.
'He started using a microphone stand to hit my head,' Lu said. 'I got six or seven stitches.'
The dashcam also captured Lu's desperate call to 911.
'Someone attacked me,' Lu told the dispatcher. 'I think I will die.. .My head is bleeding.'
Arrest records identify the attacker as 23-year-old Michael Trunko who was captured on Lu's dashcam
The owner of Fabio Bar told CBS that the rider had DJ'd at the bar hours before the attack
Trunko, 23, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and robbery, officials said.
Despite his wounds healing, Lu said he has stopped picked up any more passengers.
'I'm not driving right now because I'm scared this could happen again,' Lu told CBS.
'I drive for a rideshare company for almost five years now; I never thought this happen to me,' he added.
Torsten Kuhnert, an advocate for drivers' rights known as the Rideshare Professor set up a GoFundMe for Lu to cover his medical expenses and car damages.
Lu is expected to receive some financial assistance from Lyft for medical bills and repairs to his car but it will not be enough to cover the estimated $8,00 in expenses, which includes time off from work because of the injuries.
The fundraiser has raised nearly $6,000 so far.
Kuhnert said he hopes Lu's assault will shine a light on the struggles rideshare drivers face.