Off-duty Uber driver allegedly hits bus and resists arrest in downtown San Diego

An off-duty Uber driver accused of driving drunk and resisting arrest after crashing into a tour bus in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter has been dismissed from the company, officials said Thursday.

Shariff Herndon, 41, was fired -- or “deactivated” in Uber parlance -- by the company on Thursday after the late-night crash in the 600 block of F Street downtown ended with his arrest.

Herndon was driving his Nissan sedan westbound when he ran a red light and hit an empty bus that was southbound about 11:45 p.m. Wednesday, said San Diego police Officer Travis Easter.

The first officers at the scene believed Herndon was possibly inebriated and began to investigate -- which is when he began to resist, Easter said.

An “altercation occurred” and Herndon was eventually taken into custody, Easter said. Along with the DUI charge, officers booked him for resisting arrest and making a false statement, all misdemeanors.

An Uber official said Herndon was not active on the app at the time of the crash and had not been picking up fares for the company since Feb. 28.

Herndon had his driver’s license suspended twice -- once for five months in 2013 for a failure to appear in court, and once for three weeks in 2015 for the same reason -- according to the state Department of Motor Vehicles. The reason Herndon was to appear in court was not immediately clear.

In a statement, Uber described its driver policy:

“We have a zero tolerance policy for using or being under the influence of alcohol or drugs while driving on the Uber platform. This individual was not logged in to the Uber app at the time this incident occurred or on his way to pick up a rider. We are clearly disappointed that this occurred and have permanently removed this driver-partner’s access to the Uber platform.”

Herndon is being held on $5,000 bail.

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