Three riders of one of Uber's black cabs were taken for what one described as a "high-speed chase across state lines," in Washington DC, with a local taxi official in tow. Yesterday, New Yorker Ryan Simonetti and two of his colleagues hopped into an Uber vehicle for a ride, which quickly escalated into a chase between the driver and a DC taxi inspector, reports The Washington Post. The taxi official was talking to the driver before Simonetti and company got into the vehicle. Just after they got in, the driver took off — going so far as to run a red light to shake the tail, which reportedly had police lights on at the time.

Police radios were offline

The chase, which Simonetti said lasted eight to ten minutes, eventually resulted in the driver letting the passengers out, but that was only after being blocked by the taxi inspector, and with Simonetti threatening the driver by telling the man he'd "knock the side of your head in." The driver relented by pulling over, but then took off again, going the wrong way up an exit ramp in reverse to make his escape.

Was just kidnapped by an @uber driver in DC, held against my will, and involved in a high speed chase across state lines with police #Crazy — Ryan W Simonetti (@rwsimonetti) July 8, 2014

Police might have gotten involved, though the ordeal just happened to occur during a nearly half-hour disruption of the city's emergency communications system that was caused by a power outage. Uber has refused to give officials the name given its privacy policy. In a statement, the company told The Verge that it became aware of the matter yesterday."Rider safety is our No. 1 priority," Uber said. "We will cooperate with authorities in their investigation and have deactivated the driver pending the outcome."

Update July 9th 7:04PM: Added to include comment from Uber.