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Palo Alto police are looking for three men who reportedly accosted a rideshare driver, damaged his vehicle and tried to pull him out of his car early Monday morning, according to a news release.
Police said the man was driving his 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander to pick up a customer on the 800 block of Forest Avenue when a white minivan drove up next to him before pulling up in front of his car and stopping. The rideshare driver, a man in his 20s, said three men got out of the minivan and approached his car, police said.
When he locked himself in, one man started yelling at him to get out of the car. When he refused, one of the men repeatedly struck the driver’s side window and tried to pull the door open while the other took out a long metal rod and began to strike the vehicle.
The rideshare driver ultimately drove around the minivan and sped away from the three men, police said. The minivan initially chased him but ultimately turned off, at which point the rideshare driver stopped in the 100 block of University Avenue and called police.
While the driver could not precisely say where the incident began because he is unfamiliar with the area, police believe it occurred in the Crescent Park neighborhood before the man drove to the downtown area. Police said the man’s vehicle had moderate damage as a result of being struck with the metal rod. He described the other vehicle as an older model minivan, possibly a Toyota Sienna or Kia Sedona.
The rideshare driver said he did not know any of the men who accosted him and had not interacted with them before. Police believe they were either trying to rob him or carjack his vehicle, according to the news release.
The driver said the suspect who was pulling on his door handle was a Black male, while the other two men were of unknown race. He said the man who was hitting the car with a rod was a bald man who was wearing a light-colored shirt.
Police said there have been no similar crimes reported to police recently in the city. They are asking anyone with information about the incident to call the dispatch center at (650) 329-2413 or send anonymous tips to paloalto@tipnow.org or (650) 383-8984.