‘Deadliest Catch’ Star Apologizes After Arrest For Spitting On Uber Driver

When there’s a misunderstanding with your Uber driver, there are ways to calmly resolve the situation. Definitely don’t do what Sig Hansen — one of the stars of Discovery’s reality hit Deadliest Catch — did. The crab boat captain was recently arrested for allegedly spitting on an Uber driver who refused to accept cash.

According to the Seattle Times, Hansen was partaking in Norwegian Constitution Day festivities with his family in the Seattle suburbs when he used the Uber app to hail a ride.

A police report [PDF] says that the Uber driver picked up Sig and three others, but as they were en route to their destination, he received a notification that the trip had been canceled.

The cancellation meant that if the driver were to continue to the original destination he would not be paid for that portion of the trip. So the driver asked the passengers to send a new request through the app to make the trip official.

Instead of re-Uber-ing, the passengers allegedly offered the driver cash as payment for the trip. Uber doesn’t allow its drivers to accept cash, so the driver refused the offer and let the passengers out of his car.

This apparently did not go over well.

According to the police report, Sig and his son-in-law spat on the driver, and then kicked and dented the outside of the car. The driver says he had to flee the scene for his own safety.

Police visited the family at home, noting that Hansen and his son-in-law were “heavily intoxicated,” and denied that the incident happened. He was arrested and jailed overnight.

In a statement, Hansen said:

“I am terribly sorry for my behavior and am very embarrassed by it. I owe a bunch of people apologies, first and foremost to our Uber driver, who was just trying to get us home safely. I hope I can make that apology in person. I have no excuse, and accept responsibility for my actions. I made a boneheaded move last night, and I am sorry.”

Always be sure that you understand how an app works before you hail a ride, especially if you plan to go drinking.