It was supposed to be an ordinary night for Uber driver Shohel Mahmud, who had been driving the streets of New York City to support his family overseas. That all changed when he picked up two young women in Midtown Manhattan. What began as a routine ride quickly spiraled into chaos, leaving Mahmud not only physically hurt but grappling with an emotional trauma that no driver should have to face.

Dashcam footage from that night captured the moment that has since gone viral: Jennifer Guilbeault, a 23-year-old passenger, suddenly leaned forward from the backseat, pepper spray in hand, and unleashed a direct stream of the stinging substance into Mahmud’s eyes. Without a single word of warning, Mahmud found himself blinded, his face burning from the pepper spray. In the footage, you can see the shock and confusion as he instinctively tries to escape, but his seatbelt keeps him trapped, vulnerable to further assault.

As the attack continued, Mahmud managed to release his seatbelt and stagger out of the car, desperately blinking through the pain. But the encounter wasn’t over. In a further unsettling twist, Guilbeault reached for the driver’s seat as if trying to take control of the vehicle, while her friend looked on in apparent horror, repeatedly asking, “Why are you doing this?” The friend’s question, unanswered, echoed the confusion and fear felt by Mahmud and viewers alike.

Shaken and bewildered, Mahmud tried to confront his assailant, asking simply, “Why?” In the aftermath, he would later recall that he overheard a comment from Guilbeault referencing his race. This moment of hurt stung almost as much as the pepper spray, leaving him wondering why someone he had never met could harbor such hostility.

Guilbeault was later arrested and charged with assault, and Uber quickly banned her from the platform, calling her behavior “deplorable.” But for Mahmud, who continues to support his family in Bangladesh, the scars go deeper. Speaking to local news, he shared the toll the incident has taken on him—not just in terms of physical pain but also in his sense of safety and dignity. “I’m human, not a robot,” he said softly, his words capturing a quiet resilience that resonated with many New Yorkers.

The incident has sparked a conversation about the vulnerability of rideshare drivers, many of whom work long hours to provide for families far away. For Mahmud, this single violent encounter has altered his view of his work and left him reconsidering the risks he faces daily. As New York’s rideshare community rallies in support of Mahmud, there is a growing call for stronger protections for drivers—whether through additional safety measures or harsher penalties for those who think nothing of harming another person.