Ride-sharing renegade
An Uber driver in Virginia, U.S. has been charged after attempting to chase down someone who hit his car—without letting his passengers out first.
Local police charged Olufemi S. Olomola with two counts of abduction, reckless driving and a felony hit and run. The incident in question occurred on Monday when John Murray and his wife Tameka Swann were looking for a ride to their date-night dinner. According to Murray, Olomola picked the pair up outside their home without suspicion but, when the vehicle was rear-ended by another driver a few blocks later, Olomola lost his cool.
“I thought we were just going to pull over and they would exchange information, but the other driver pulled around us and took up,” Murray told CTV News. “I had no idea he was about to go all Fast and the Furious on us.”
Murray began live-streaming the situation on Facebook when the initial accident occurred. Things were initially calm as he and his wife discuss the accident, but Olomola soon slammed on the gas to begin pursuing the culprit.
For the next four minutes, the stream showed Olomola racing through red lights and speeding through stop signs while the couple pleads for him to stop and let them out.
“I’ve got four kids and I can’t be riding like this—you’ve got to let us out,” Swann reportedly told the driver.
“I can’t let this guy go,” responded Olomola.
About halfway through the ordeal, the video shows the Uber running another red light—narrowly missing a bicyclist. Another car then collides with the vehicle as Murray and Swann plead for him to pull over.
“He kept going, he kept going,” Swann told CTV. “That was the scariest moment of my life.”
Eventually, Olomola stopped and let the passengers out.
According to police, Olomola is still in custody.
A big, big Bus
After discovering an old military firetruck in a local wrecking yard, auto enthusiast Kirk Strawn had a wild idea–built the biggest Volkswagen Bus the world has ever seen.
The massive masterpiece was recently featured on Barcroft Cars’ Ridiculous Rides and was built on the chassis of a 1963 military firetruck. Outfitted with two floors, 85 speakers and neon lights, the replica Bus stands at a whopping 13 ft. 2 in. and contains absolutely no VW parts. The Bus, affectionately named Walter, is exactly twice the size of an original VW Bus, which debuted in 1950.
To achieve the build, Kirk cleared out the interior and assembled a custom body using the old roof of the truck as the floor for the upper level. The driving position was also moved to the roof by extending the controls up, and the sides were built up to close in the upper and lower sections.
Strawn has taken Walter to the Burning Man music festival and various special events, but mostly it seems he just gets a kick out of driving it around. With a very commanding view of the road and a sound system worthy of a dance club, we can definitely see this being the ultimate party bus.
To see the bus featured on Ridiculous Rides, click here.
Trans-Canada topple
A car hauler recently took a nasty tumble along the Trans-Canada Highway when it rolled over, taking the seven vehicles it was carrying for a rowdy ride.
The incident occurred just west of Swift Current, Sask. and police blamed “large ice buildup” for the crash. The vehicle had hit an icy patch and came to rest in the middle of the two-lane highway. The semi was originally travelling east but, after hitting the icy terrain, it ended up facing west.
Six of the seven vehicles suffered extensive damage.
Traffic was not impeded by the crash and local towing company Low-Cost Towing was on the scene to remove the wreckage.
