Uber driver thankful to be alive after being shot in head by passenger

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    NASHVILLE, Tennessee (WSMV) — An Uber driver is thankful after being shot in the head by his passenger on Dec. 30.

Josh Rowe, a musician and driver, was shot shortly after he picked up his passenger “Brandon” on Lena Street in North Nashville around 7 p.m.

“I am so blessed. Everybody has been so good to me. I want everybody to know that I love them,” said Rowe, who is leaving the hospital on Tuesday night.

Rowe drove his passenger a few miles before he was shot at point-blank with the intent to rob and kill him.

At the end of the ride, Rowe was told by his passenger to pull over.

“At the end of the ride, he told him just to pull over, and Josh said, without any warning, the guy just put a gun to his left side, and just shot him,” said Riordan.

The suspect stole his phone, wallet and Toyota Prius. Rowe was able to exit the vehicle and run for his life to a shipping yard in the area.

“The area, there’s no stores or store fronts or anything,” said Riordan. “There happened to be some type of cement plant or some type of store like that. They were shutting the game and there were some people there and he started screaming for help.”

Riordan said her son knew to put his hand on his wounds to try to stop the bleeding.

“He knew to put his hands on his wounds, and he said that’s all he could do was hold that to keep himself from bleeding to death,” said Donna Riordan, Rowe’s mom. “Even though it sounds terrible that he got shot in the head, I’m going to tell you something, a lot of good has come out of it. We feel God was there and I want people to know miracles still happen today.”

The call Riordan received is one she will never forget.

“We have a Joshua Rowe in our trauma ICU who’s been shot. Are you related to him,” said Riordan, repeating the call she received from the hospital.

It was almost 24 hours before Rowe’s family knew what had happened.

He had a message for his mother as soon as she saw him.

“He said, ‘Give me a piece of paper and a pen,’ and I did, and he wrote down “I love you Mom. I forgive him.”

Riordan said the surgeon told her there is no reason her son should be alive now.

“God had his hand on that bullet,” said Riordan. “He said, ‘There is no way your son should be alive today.”

Forgiveness for the person who left Rowe with injuries left doctors in awe.

“The fact that where it entered and where it exited is so full of vessels, blood vessels and nerves, the fact that it didn’t hit anything and that he is alive is nothing short of a miracle,” said Riordan.

Riordan said the lyrics of Rowe’s song Angels of Mercy were so fitting of his experience.

“The song, when you hear it, it’s haunting because it’s like, I’m scared, I’m here along at night, and his was,” said Riordan. “The nurses here, the trauma team at Vanderbilt were angels of mercy. They saved my baby’s life.”

Rowe underwent surgery on Monday. Now, like his album titled Sweet Recovery, he’ll be able to go home and recover.

There is no suspect information at this time. Police said Rowe’s Prius was recovered the next day.

A GoFundMe account has been set up to aid Rowe in his recovery.

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