KIRKWOOD, Mo. — A man who was working as a rideshare driver was nearly carjacked in Kirkwood just before 4 a.m. Wednesday.
"All of a sudden some headlights popped up behind me," the driver said under the condition of anonymity.
He had just arrived at his next customer's home on Hartmann Court.
"I just heard bang bang bang, someone banging on my window and I turned around and there's a gun on my face," he said.
Another person was pointing a gun at one of the customers already in the car. Both of them were wearing masks.
"The guy is telling me 'Get out the car ... get out the car.'"
That's when the other woman he went to pick up came out of her home.
"Her garage door opens. She doesn't know what's going on. She's just coming out to get in my car," he said.
That's when the bad guys took off in the car they pulled up in that was initially blocking the driveway.
"They don't want anyone witnessing the act because someone may actually see the vehicle that he drove up in and if they're smart enough, they may catch a plate," Michael Barbieri, personal safety expert, said.
He has seen this happen before. Recently, he's seen it more often with rideshare drivers.
"Now instead of robbing them, they're stealing their vehicle ... they're not out joy riding. They're out looking for a quick shop, a gas station or an individual to rob," he added.
If you're not trained to put up a fight, then don't, Barbieri said as advice.
"Why lose your life over a car ... you can replace everything except your life," Barbieri added.
"I really believe if that young lady hadn't opened up her garage door, there's no telling what would've happened," the driver added.
He returned to work shaken up the next day. He said he had no choice.
"I got to make a living, I got to do it ... a lot of elderly people, sometimes they can't get a ride and they depend on me to come get them," he said.
Kirkwood Police Department Public Information Officer Gary Baldridge said no one was hurt in the incident.
The car used during the incident is being investigated in connection with "other criminal activity in the area."
There have been no arrests in the case.