Ride Me

An Uber driver whipped out a breathalyzer and blew into the device during a ride -- a bizarre moment, recorded by his passenger -- but Uber says it's not what it looks like.

Check out this video shot during an Uber ride last week in Nashville ... you see the driver waving around a huge breathalyzer in his right hand as he drives down a street.

The passenger, Kyle, tells TMZ ... he noticed a sudden beeping noise in the car. He says the driver told him it was a safety feature in his vehicle causing the noise, and then reached under his seat to pull out the breathalyzer. Kyle says the driver blew into it, and the trip continued.

In the video, you hear the driver say, "I just had this put in today, I haven't perfected it."

The rider reported the troubling incident to Uber and requested a refund, and it hit him back with a generic response and a measly $5 credit to his account.

Doesn't seem like a great response to finding out your driver possibly has a DUI that requires him/her to intermittently blow into a device, just to keep the engine running -- however, an Uber rep says the driver was using a family member's car because his car was getting repairs. Uber says the device belonged to the driver's relative.

We're told the driver is not being disciplined because he had registered the relative's car as a secondary vehicle on his account.

The ridesharing app has a policy that people cannot drive for Uber if they've been convicted of DUI within the past 7 years, and the company claims it conducts criminal background checks and driving record checks to ensure its drivers meet certain safety standards.

Get your tissues ready ... 'cause this one is gonna hit you right in the feels.

New England Patriots rookie DE Chase Winovich wanted to thank his mom for everything she did to raise him throughout the years ... so he hooked her up with a brand new car!!!

... And, her reaction is perfect!!!

Winovich posted a play-by-play of the big reveal ... pointing at the shiny new 2019 Mazda MX-5 Miata with a bow on it and saying, "It's yours, I bought it for you."

"Get out of here ... I'll go for the Prius!" Chase's mom, Nina, said in disbelief.

Chase said it's a way of giving back for all the times she drove her car without a radio from their home in Pittsburgh to Ann Arbor to watch him play at Michigan.

"I can never repay you, but here’s a start. I love you mom," Chase said on Instagram.

The 24-year-old had previously said it was his goal to get his mom a new car when he made it pro ... and now he's finally made it happen.

Winovich -- who signed a 4-year, $3.8 mil rookie contract after being selected in the 3rd round -- has been balling out for the Pats this season with 4.5 sacks and 14 tackles ... but this is the best highlight.

A Lyft driver pulled a female passenger out of his car, and allegedly started to attack her -- kicking off a chain reaction of fights with concerned passersby.

TMZ got a hold of this WILD surveillance video recorded Tuesday afternoon in L.A., and it starts with the car -- which has the Lyft emblem in the back window -- parked curbside along busy Melrose Avenue. Then the male driver hops out, and pulls a young woman from the seat behind him and starts dragging her out of the vehicle while tossing her stuff out at the same time.

The woman, actress Alessandra Starr Ward, tells TMZ the whole thing started when she started playing a song called "Te Bote" from her phone. The driver demanded she turn it off, she refused, and they started arguing. He allegedly threatened to boot her from the car, and she told him she'd call police if he did.

In the clip, you can see Alessandra fighting back, but the driver pushed her down and knocked her over. Drivers in other cars saw it unfolding and a few guys stopped to help.

That's when it really hit the fan ... several guys teamed up on the Lyft driver, who continued fighting back, and in the scuffle ... Alessandra got knocked down again. It took one guy putting the Lyft driver in a chokehold to finally calm things down.

We're told nearby police officers were flagged down, and cited the Lyft driver for misdemeanor battery. As for Alessandra, she says she went to the hospital and was diagnosed with a concussion. She also says she has bruises all over her body, a sprained ankle and a black eye.

She tells us Lyft needs to vet its drivers, as this shouldn't happen to anyone. It's unclear if she plans to pursue legal action against the rideshare company.

Kevin Hart's 2 friends who survived that car crash with him are giving us a glimpse into their recovery for the first time since sustaining very serious injuries.

Rebecca Broxterman, the backseat passenger, posted images of the driver -- and her fiance -- Jared Black in a neck brace following the accident. She says the hospital bed photos of Jared are from Sept. 17 ... a little more than 2 weeks after the wreck.

Not surprisingly, Rebecca called the night of the accident the scariest of her life.

More than 2 months later, she's opening up ... saying after the accident she was terrified when she had to be separated from Jared when they were airlifted from the crash scene to the hospital.

Jared, who suffered very similar spinal injuries as Kevin did, underwent major back surgery, and Rebecca says they're doing physical therapy together a few times each week.

TMZ broke the story ... Kevin's 1970 Plymouth Barracuda -- driven by Jared -- crashed into a ravine Sept. 1 and Hart suffered serious back injuries which required surgery and a grueling physical therapy routine.

Sir Rod Stewart is a rock star with a super interesting hobby ... building model railways.

Rod says he's spent the past 23 years creating an imaginary U.S. city in the attic of his Los Angeles mansion, complete with intricate details and over 100 feet of railroad tracks. Who knew that's what he was up to when he wasn't making music or performing live?!?

The British rocker finally revealed his secret passion in an interview with Railway Modeller magazine, telling the outlet he even took his hobby on tour, working on skyscrapers and other scenery in extra hotel rooms specifically reserved for his construction project.

Rod says he prefers creating structures and scenery as opposed to laying down railroad ... and his whimsical town features warehouses, high-rises, mills and different landscapes.

The railway infrastructure is pretty detailed too ... there's rail stations, tunnels, bridges and, of course, tracks. There's even cars and ships.

Rod's city is so intricate, he says he made sure every pavement stone in town is a slightly different color. He used black chalk to create cracks and even put fake garbage in the gutters and incorporated rust.

As for the roots of his hobby ... Rod recalls seeing a model railway in a window display when he was growing up in England, and he wondered how he could get paid to build one.

Kevin Hart's got a good thing going ... and he appears to be trying to spread those vibes wherever he goes.

We got Kevin out with his wife, Eniko, Tuesday after the 2 went shopping at the luxury boutique, Maxfield, in WeHo ... and he's his usual upbeat self as we ask him some questions about coming back from his car accident.

Hart's train of thought is momentarily interrupted while he and Eniko determine how to pay the valet ... but Kev ultimately settles on $100 from his stack of Benjamins.

Back to his recovery ... Hart tells us he's not returned to form physically yet, but he's working every day to get better and says he has some time off before he goes back to work to focus on it.

He also has a sense of humor about the injuries he suffered a couple months ago ... just watch how he gets into his sports car.

As we've reported ... Kevin's been preaching lately about appreciating life and focusing on the important things, and his chat with us echoes that sentiment.

It's not like Kevin Hart wants paps to hold hands and sing 'Kumbaya' ... but he would like for peeps to focus on important things instead of stuff like safely operating a motor vehicle.

The comedian was out Monday in WeHo leaving a studio where he looked like a man on a mission. But, he was clearly riled by questions about his car crash.

Kevin scoffed at a question about safety regulations on muscle cars -- installing safety harnesses. As we reported, Kevin's 1970 Plymouth Barracuda did not have harnesses and no one in the car had a seat belt on at the time of the crash. Nevertheless, Kevin wants peeps to focus on living life and things that matter ... laughter and love. His words.

As we reported ... Kevin made his first public appearance since his car wreck more than 2 months ago ... accepting the Comedy Act Award at the People's Choice Awards Sunday night. He got the award for his Netflix special, "Irresponsible."

'Tis the season ... for winter weather to start wreaking havoc on airports across America, and a flight landing in Chicago is the first to majorly feel its effects.

American Eagle flight 4125 was arriving from Greensboro, NC Monday morning when it slid off the runway after landing at Chicago's O'Hare Airport. As you can see in the video, snow was falling during the scary incident.

According to American Airlines ... icy conditions are to blame, but fortunately, there were no injuries. The airline adds, "All 38 passengers and three crew members were removed from the aircraft and are now safely back in the terminal."

Kevin Hart's getting back on his feet ... and he's got the support of Hollywood behind him.

Kevin made his first public appearance since his scary car wreck more than 2 months ago, to accept the Comedy Act Award at the E! People's Choice Awards Sunday night for his Netflix special, 'Irresponsible.'

The crowd gave Hart a standing ovation as he came out, and Robert Downey Jr. handed him the award.

Kevin said ... "First and foremost, man, thank God because I definitely don't have to be here." He went on to say he appreciates life more now after his accident, especially the things that really matter -- like his wife and kids.

Hart also thanked the people for their energy and support during his difficult time, saying ... "You have no idea the effect you have on us as entertainers."

As you know, Kevin was involved in a single-car crash on September 1 with 2 other people, and suffered serious injuries along with the driver. Hart's 3 spinal fractures required serious rehab and physical therapy ... which he recently updated his fans about.

Kevin Hart is recovering so well from his car crash .... he's now hitting the town!!!

Kevin and his wife, Eniko, rolled up to Mr. Chow Friday night in Bev Hills for a little grub. You wouldn't know he suffered grizzly back injuries from the accident back in September.

Kevin underwent surgery for 3 fractures, went to a live-in rehab facility for a while and then began intensive rehab at home. Nevertheless, he's made remarkable progress.

Kevin's even gone back to work -- not fully, but still ... he's done promotional shoots for 'Jumanji' and is keeping the schedule he set before the accident. We're told he has downtime so he's not missing any shoots.

Young Dolph was tossing handfuls of a green, leafy substance out the window of his Lamborghini before getting pulled over, according to cops ... in a scene straight out of "Super Troopers."

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Young Dolph was cruising around Fairburn, GA Thursday morning when a patrol car noticed the paper license plate on the rapper's yellow Lambo SUV was expired.

We're told officers lit him up, but Dolph continued driving for several blocks and that's when police noticed him tossing something green and leafy out the driver's side window.

In video from the traffic stop ... you see Young Dolph on his knees and in handcuffs as he's being detained by cops.

Our sources say police searched the Lambo but did not find any drugs, guns or contraband ... so Dolph was ticketed for littering and driving with an expired tag. He was not arrested.

We're told cops couldn't determine if Young Dolph was dumping marijuana out of his whip because the green substance was too scattered about the busy road by the time police pulled him over.

Kevin O'Leary insists his wife, Linda, was driving their boat when it slammed into another vessel on a Canadian lake, killing 2 people, but the family of one of the victims that is suing O'Leary isn't conceding Kevin wasn't behind the wheel.

TMZ has obtained a copy of the lawsuit filed by the family of Susanne Brito, listing Kevin, his wife, Linda, as well as the owner and operator of the boat Susanne was on.

The lawsuit claims both Kevin and Linda were driving the boat, although it never alleges who was behind the wheel at the time of the crash.

The claims against Kevin and Linda are mirror images. The lawsuit says both Kevin and Linda should have checked the other for driving too fast and that they both had a propensity for driving too fast. The lawsuit says the boat they were driving was deficient ... among other things, it didn't have a proper horn and it was not in good condition.

And, there's this ... the lawsuit claims both Kevin and Linda were incapable of safely operating their boat because their judgment was impaired by alcohol, drugs or fatigue.

The lawsuit goes on to claim both Kevin and Linda had poor vision and were prescribed glasses and they failed to wear them on the night in question.

The suit also says Kevin and Linda were texting and driving.

As we reported, Canadian authorities say Linda was driving and she was charged with operating the boat carelessly ... i.e., going too fast. The other driver was cited for operating his boat at 11:30 at night without navigation lights.

The lawsuit asks for $1 million in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages. As for punitive damages, the lawsuit says Kevin and Linda "behaved with arrogance, high-handedness and have shown a callous disregard and complete lack of care."

Gucci Mane's convinced the nightclub where he performed screwed him over and indirectly got his supercar towed, but the club's calling BS ... and laying the blame squarely on a drug store.

A rep for Mr Jones Miami -- the club where Gucci performed last week -- tells TMZ the rapper's sadly mistaken by pointing a finger at them because they say it's his own security that screwed up parking the Ferrari Superfast.

Here's the deal ... we're being told someone on Gucci's security team parked the $600k ride in a lot behind the club -- a lot that technically belongs to the CVS next door. Gucci's team allegedly even talked to the CVS manager and got the okay to park there.

It seems everything would've been fine, except that manager's shift ended. The folks at Mr Jones tell us a NEW manager came on duty and called for the tow because he had no clue about Gucci's deal with his predecessor.

Classic communication breakdown.

Of course, that's not how Gucci feels about it. In his Instagram video documenting the whole ordeal, he insinuates the club owes him as much as $40k -- to cover damage to his car -- since he thinks their valets misled him.

Mr. Jones denies their valets ever gave Gucci's team the go-ahead to park in CVS' lot ... because their peeps strictly handle parking in front of the club, not in the back.

Kevin O'Leary and his wife are being sued by the family of one of the victims in the deadly boat crash.

Rosa and Antonio Ragone are suing on behalf of their deceased daughter, Susanne Brito ... with their attorney, Patrick Brown, saying, "For this grieving family, it is about obtaining civil justice so as to prevent these types of deaths and curtailing reckless and dangerous behavior from continuing on our lakes."

We broke the story ... Kevin's wife, Linda, was driving their boat on a lake in Ontario, Canada back in August around 11:30 PM, when it rammed into another boat, killing 2 onboard that boat. Canadian authorities have charged Linda with careless operation of a vessel -- we're told they felt she was going too fast -- something her lawyer strongly denies. The driver of the other boat was charged with driving a boat without navigation lights.

The driver of the other boat is also being sued.

Gucci Mane had a terrible night at the club -- he walked out to find his Ferrari missing from the parking lot, but eventually found it ... in a tow yard!!!

Here's the deal ... the Atlanta rapper was partying at Mr. Jones in Miami Beach when he parked his exotic car -- a Ferrari Superfast -- in a small lot behind the club. Unfortunately for Gucci, the whip got towed along with several other cars.

Gucci was LIVID after learning his $600k ride was hauled off on a tow truck -- for the car's sake, we hope it was a flatbed -- and things only got worse when Gucci got to the tow yard.

Even after locating the lock-up, he had a helluva time getting back his car. The big issue -- his ID was locked inside the Ferrari, and the tow yard folks were real sticklers for the rules. Watch ... there's zero celebrity favoritism here.

After an epic rant, Gucci relented and coughed up $300 to free the Ferrari. He took some time to inspect his whip for damage, just to make sure everything was ... y'know.

The Department of Homeland Security was anything BUT secure when it wrecked Anthony Scaramucci's wife's SUV ... so claims her insurance company in a new lawsuit.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Deidre Scaramucci's insurer, Cincinnati Insurance Co., claims a DHS agent was following Mrs. Mooch too closely on August 14, 2017, as she drove through Manhattan.

The agent, behind the wheel of a Ford SUV, collided with Deidre's 2015 Land Rover in what turned out to be a 5-figure wreck ... according to Cincinnati Insurance. It forked over $41,785.58 to cover the damages -- and now wants some payback from the U.S. of A.

As for why the agent was even driving behind Deidre -- the lawsuit doesn't say he was on the clock, so it could just be coincidence. It's worth noting the accident happened 14 days after President Trump said adios Mooch-acho after his infamous 10 days on the job as White House Communications Director.

Soooo, in this case anyway, the insult came before the injury to Mrs. Mooch's whip.