Ride hailing service Uber said it was in contact with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) after it came to light that the suspect in Tuesday’s deadly attack who used a rented truck to kill and injury people in New York City was a driver for the company.
Born in Uzbekistan Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov has lived in the U.S. for seven years, said sources in law enforcement. Uber announced that he began driving for the company a little over six months ago in New Jersey.
The suspect, who is 29, has been accused of using a rented pickup to run over cyclists who had been on a busy bicycle path close to Manhattan’s World Trade Center said officials early Wednesday. Police shot and detained the suspect following the incident.
Records show that Saipov had received several citations for driving during the past.
During 2015, Saipov was charged by police in Platte, Missouri with not equipping a vehicle carrier with or to maintain a required system of brakes.
After missing a court appearance back in November of 2016, a plea of guilty was entered by the court on behalf of Saipov.
Rules in New Jersey for services offering ride-hailing such as Uber or Lyft require companies to conduct a criminal background check that are outsourced most of the time to specialist companies.
Convictions for different crimes such as reckless driving disqualify drivers automatically.
It is not clear if Uber rejects potential drivers due to having a record for minor offenses such as those Saipov has.
Late Tuesday and earlier Wednesday, Uber did not respond to questions related to past citations on Saipov’s record.
Uber announced that it was reviewing the history of Saipov with the company, but has not to date identified any complaints by riders about how he drove for them.
This is not the first time a driver for Uber has been tied to a high-profile criminal investigation.
A man in Missouri was charged in 2016 with murder over a spree of killings he allegedly carried out in between his picking up and dropping off Kalamazoo County passengers.
