Uber

The exterior of Uber's headquarters is seen March 1, 2017, in San Francisco. A driver for UberX, a subsidiary in which private vehicle owners pick up passengers via a smartphone app, was accidentally shot early Sunday, March 5, 2017, while driving on Interstate 78 in Lehigh County, according to Pennsylvania State Police. (AP Photo | For lehighvalleylive.com)

An Uber driver was treated and released from the hospital after being accidentally shot by a passenger last weekend, Pennsylvania State Police said Friday.

It occurred about 12:21 a.m. Sunday as Christopher Coulthard, 33, of Whitehall Township, was driving on Interstate 78 West near mile-marker 62.1 in Upper Saucon Township, state police at Fogelsville said in a news release.

Couthard was able to dial 911 and was taken by ambulance to Lehigh Valley Hospital in Salisbury Township.

His passenger, 24-year-old Stefan E. Zdanowicz, was transferring a legally carried, concealed 9mm handgun from a jacket pocket to another pocket when he accidentally fired a shot, Trooper Robert E. Devers says in the release.

The round penetrated the rear of the driver's seat, struck Coulthard in the left side of his back and exited his body, lodging in the driver's seat cushion, according to police.

Zdanowicz, of Bethlehem, was "highly intoxicated" at the time, police said.

He was arraigned Friday before District Judge Daniel Trexler on misdemeanor counts of simple assault, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief.

He was released on $7,500 unsecured bail and faces a preliminary hearing tentatively scheduled March 20 before Trexler.

Uber began offering its UberX service, in which drivers pick up passengers in privately owned vehicles, in January 2015 in the Lehigh Valley.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.