Taco Bell Executive Benjamin Golden Faces Prison: Uber Driver Attacked On Video Starts Fundraiser
Taco Bell executive Benjamin Golden may soon wish he could think outside the prison system. After an Uber driver was attacked on video, Golden was identified as the assailant and was fired from his old job. But now the Golden faces criminal charges based upon his actions.
In a related report by the Inquisitr, Uber driver Edward Caban says he picked up the Taco Bell executive up in Costa Mesa, California this past Friday night. Benjamin Golden was apparently too drunk to give coherent directions, so Caban decided to kick the exec out.
“You’re too drunk to give me directions, man,” Caban says. “Get out of my car or I will call the police.”
In response, the Uber driver was attacked with a flurry of slaps and punches. Golden even grabbed Caban’s hair and tried to smash his face into the windshield. Caban told CBS that he believed the only way to get him to stop the beating was to incapacitate him by using some kind of self defense.
When the Uber driver uploaded the video to YouTube, he described how he used the pepper spray.
“I grabbed the pepper spray from my center console and put it under my right thigh and flipped my camera around…as [I] always do when my spidey senses start tingling…We went back and fourth a bit before I told him if he [didn’t] get out [I] would call the police. At which point he opened his door and began beating me over the head. I fumbled with the safety on the pepper spray while trying to protect my face with my other arm, I broke free from him grabbing me by the hair on the back of my head, and sprayed his face until he got out of the car, at which point [I] left the vehicle.”
The 32-year-old Taco Bell executive was picked up a short time later by police and booked on misdemeanor charges of public intoxication, and assaulting a taxicab operator, although apparently these charges have been upgraded.
Uber has been in contact with Edward Caband, and it appears he is doing alright after the attack, although the driver never plan on working with Uber again. Uber spokeswoman Kayla Whaling also said Golden has been permanently banned from using Uber services in the future.
The Uber driver has also started a GoFundMe fundraiser. He is asking for $1,000 and has explained the reasons why he is asking for charity.
“I have barely slept since the incident, and am suffering from ongoing headaches. I have become paranoid and have been having anxiety attacks daily. I have no medical insurance, and am in desperate need to see a mental health professional, as well as follow ups with a doctor. I am not normally the kind of person to reach out for help, especially from the public, but I no longer feel safe doing my job as a Rideshare Driver, and I desperatley need funds so that I am able to get both physical and mental care from my incident.”
Taco Bell responded to the Uber attack by firing Benjamin Golden from his job at the company.
“Given the behavior of the individual, it is clear he can no longer work for us,” a Taco Bell rep told AdWeek. “We have also offered and encouraged him to seek professional help.”
According to ABC, the Taco Bell executive’s charges now include assault on a public transportation property, battery on a public transit employee with injury, assault and battery. The Orange County District Attorney’s office said Benjamin Golden is currently out of police custody, but prosecutors are requesting that Golden be held on a $20,000 bail. If Golden is convicted on these charges, he may have to pay a $10,000 fine and the maximum prison sentence is one year.
[Image via YouTube]
