A lot of Uber drivers have accepted long rides from one city to another but Uber driver Hadi Abdollahian wasn’t expecting to go on a long trip when he picked up a passenger at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. Abdollahian was expecting this to be just another ride but he quickly found out that it would take him to Buffalo, New York.
The passenger was Buffalo Bills cornerback Shareece Wright and he was in a hurry since he had to be in Buffalo for team meetings at 7 a.m. The trip from Chicago to Buffalo, New York was around 500 miles and around eight hours but Abdollahian decided to help get the NFL player to team meetings in time.
Wright signed with the Buffalo Bills last month and did not want to be late to team meetings with his new team. Abdollahian was told it was an emergency and the two began the long road trip to Buffalo. Wright says he arrived to the facility at 6:57 or 6:58 a.m.
The total for the long road trip was $632.08 but Wright tipped Abdollahian $300. The cornerback spent $932.08 to get to team meetings in time. The Bills were happy to see Wright doing everything he could to get to team meetings early.
Wright ended up requesting an Uber ride after changing one of his flights. The flight was delayed and the next one was not until the morning, which meant that he would miss team meetings. Wright then began requesting Uber rides but the first two drivers canceled after seeing that it was a road trip. The third driver was Abdollahian and Wright said during an interview that he called him to let him know about the destination.
Wright and Abdollahian talked for hours during the trip to Buffalo. The NFL cornerback was impressed by Abdollahian’s dedication to get him to team meetings on time. Abdollahian talked to Wright about his dream to become an astronaut while Wright talked to him about his football career and family. Abdollahian also told him his story on how he entered the US as a refugee. Abdollahian left Iran in 2011 and told him that he spent two years in Turkey before moving to the US.
Bluerock Energy, a Buffalo Bills sponsor, tried to reimburse Wright for the Uber ride but the cornerback decided to give the check to Abdollahian. The Uber driver shared a picture of it on Twitter.
