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Well, This Uber Ride Didn't Go as Expected

RECALCULATING.
Screenshot via KRON4

When you spring for an Uber, the idea is that the person behind the wheel has a much better idea of how to get you where you want to go, taking the quickest route, than you do. Whether it be a person or a robot, we blindly trust these drivers to navigate the roadways, avoid accidents with pedestrians, and get us to our destination in one piece.

But on Monday, some Uber passengers in San Francisco were treated to a much more, uh, off-roading experience when their driver took this adventurous detour.

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According to Business Insider, the driver, Fred, said he was just following the instructions on his Uber navigation app when he careened his Toyota Camry down the flight of concrete steps like a hapless Michael Scott. He also had two passengers in the car at the time, and was on his way to pick up a third, when he decided to take the stairs out of the Safeway parking lot. Luckily, no one in the car or on the walkway was injured, KRON4 reports.

Unfortunately for Fred, his embarrassing trip down the road less traveled by was on full display on San Francisco's Market Street for about an hour until a tow truck arrived. Then Fred had to watch as the tow truck tried to lower his vehicle onto the street below, freeing it from its vertical purgatory, only to have the cable break and send the car careening into a trash can.

It's unclear whether or not Fred, who's been driving with Uber for less than a year, will keep shuttling people around. But he told Business Insider that if he does, he won't be driving in that Safeway parking lot again until the grocery store makes some changes to the layout. Still, it's not clear how he missed the handrails and the straight vertical drop.

Photo via Google Maps

And while Fred might live on as one of the most legendary Uber drivers, unafraid of the perils his GPS might steer him down, his stair detour is still not the most Grand Theft Auto thing that's happened on California's roadways.

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