BLACKSBURG, Va. – Six months ago, a local Uber driver was attacked by someone when he was dropping off a passenger.
The incident occurred along Prices Fork in Blacksburg when Earthman changed lanes.
He was then followed for almost a mile and was confronted by Martin McGraw.
“I started to go back to my vehicle, get back inside my vehicle and he reached into my car and punched me in the face,” Earthman said.
McGraw was arrested almost a month after the incident.
“He in turn went to the magistrates office on either Monday or Tuesday and he made the allegation that I assaulted him,” Earthman said.
This month—both Earthman and McGraw went to court.
“In the judges words were when he saw Mr. McGraw physically attack me, his jaw dropped,” said Earthman. “I had to hire an attorney to first prosecute him and then defend me.”
Earthman was found not guilty and his charges were dismissed.
McGraw was found guilty and sentenced to anger management classes and 12 months of probation.
The biggest issue now for Earthman since being accused? His yearly background check through Uber didn’t pass because of the charges.
“I guess a pending charge is cause for being deplatformed—removed from eligibility to access the platform,” he said. “There’s a 30–60 daytime period that I may be waiting until I hear back from them.”
When asked about the financial impact?
“Conservatively, $15,000 to 20,000,” Earthman said. “I could’ve done the Metallica concert for instance and probably make 500 dollars that day.”
McGraw’s attorney did not respond to requests for comment.
Uber said in a statement they are looking into the situation.
Earthman said this has been some of the most stressful six months of his life, and he just wants to get this all behind him so he can move on.