After a concerned father noticed his daughter didn't come home as expected from an Uber ride, he took matters into his own hands. The woman says she was raped and her father says he found her in the back seat with the Uber driver.
According to Baltimore County Police Public Information Officer Shawn Vinson, on June 1, a family member called an Uber to pick up a woman and transport her to her destination. The woman's father noticed that the ride was taking longer than expected and used an app on his phone to locate his daughter.
Officials say the app led the father to find the Uber car that matched the description given by the rideshare app in a no parking area off of Timonium Road and Jenifer Road in the Mays Chapel area. They say he knocked on the door of the vehicle and noticed his daughter was inside of the car. After exchanging words with the Uber driver, the father grabbed his daughter and the driver drove off.
Baltimore County Police were immediately notified of the incident and are handling the situation as a rape investigation. Detectives are working collaboratively with the Uber ride-share company to find out what led up to the incident and exactly what happened in the car. Police say it is still unknown the extent of the woman's injuries.
"This is a very serious allegation it is a very serious incident," said Vinson. " Our primary focus right now is on the victim to make sure that she has the services that she needs to address the situation to try and get over this incident."
Rideshare-related crimes have captured nationwide attention after several sexual assault and kidnappings. In March, a South Carolina college student was killed and left in a field after getting into a car she thought was an Uber. South Carolina police were able to arrest and charge the man allegedly responsible for her gruesome death.
READ MORE: A college student got into a car she thought was her Uber, police say. She ended up dead in a field
County police are aware of the recent crimes involving rideshare companies and are urging people to take safety precautions when planning to call for a vehicle.
"Having family members aware of where you are going, where you are headed, and having constant contact with someone, the ability to call if you need to call, have a cell phone with you, use these apps that are available that people can tell where you're at, especially if you are expected to be somewhere at a certain amount of time and you don't reach that destination, give us a call," said Vinson.
WMAR-2 News Reporter Erin MacPherson spoke to local ride-share users on the latest alleged crime in the area. Bethany Pace uses ride-share apps occasionally and sometimes uses it for her high school daughter when she's in a bind. Her daughter is also trained in jujitsu.
"My rule is a three mile radius, no further," said Pace. "Three miles is all my nerves can take in terms of the distance. I track it and of course I make sure she checks car, make and model. She texts me throughout the ride. I'm always happy when she's out of the car and texts me 'I'm here'."
Pace said it's scary to hear a woman was allegedly sexually assaulted but that just makes her be more vigilant. She wonders how easy it is to become an Uber driver.
"There are some gaps in oversight potentially and that's concerning," said Pace. She typically used Lyft instead of Uber. She said she chose Lyft since there was some negative press about Uber.
Walker Bazemore said he may switch to Lyft after all the negative press.
"I feel like these incidents have been happening more frequently. I'm going to be more cautious in the future," said Bazemore.
Bazemore said he, and his friends, had nothing but good experiences with Uber until recently.
"We see blue lights in the rear view mirror and he gets pulls over," said Bazemore. He said he was a passenger in an Uber when his driver was pulled over for having a suspended license. Bazemore said the officer told him to find another ride home.
"It's kind of scary that Uber would overlook something like that because we ultimately put our safety in the hands of these strangers," said Bazemore.
Uber released a statement on the incident saying they are still looking into the situation and added new safety features and improvements last year to their screening process and app to ensure the safety of passengers.
“What’s been reported is appalling beyond words. We removed the driver from the app as soon as this was reported to us. We will work with police on their investigation.”
As of now, detectives have not confirmed if they have identified the Uber driver. They say there is no evidence of a pattern involving the specific driver. Police are asking anyone with information or anyone who thinks they are a victim to come forward and contact police.
