Friday, August 17, 2018

AN UBER-UBER RIDE WITH AN UBER-UBER DRIVER

Uber trip from hell as three women returning from book club were 'kidnapped' by driver who sped and swerved for 25 minutes screaming 'we're all going to die' before letting them go

By Rory Tingle

Daily Mail
August 16, 2018

Three friends from Sacramento were left fearing for their lives after being 'kidnapped' by an Uber driver who sped and swerved for 25 minutes screaming 'we're all going to die'.

Theadora Fuerstenberg, Angela O'Neal and Katherine Vallaire ordered the Uber shortly before 9.20pm on June 15 from a book club in Arden to Oak Park, but shortly after taking their seats noticed the driver was following the wrong directions and behaving erratically.

After the driver began swerving in and out of lanes one of the women phoned 911. Shortly afterwards, he exited Highway 99 at 47th Avenue and let the women out, where they were later met by sheriff's deputies.

'I legitimately believed that we were going to die,' Fuerstenberg told KTXL on Tuesday.

'He terrorized us for 25 minutes. He would swerve in an out and as he was doing this he would say "we are all going to die now."'

Fuerstenberg's torment continued into the following day, when a neighbor told her, 'Oh, your friend just left. It was strange, he was staring into your house.'

After she heard the description matched the Uber driver, Fuerstenberg got a restraining order against him.

Sacramento County Sheriff's Department is now investigating the incident as a kidnapping, while Uber says it has removed the driver's access to the app.

Fuerstenberg said she wants the man held 'accountable' and thinks other people should be aware of the risks of using ride hailing apps.

Uber said: 'The disturbing behavior the riders reported will not be tolerated. We removed the driver's access to the app shortly after we learned of the incident and stand ready to work with police.'

The driver had been working for Uber for a few months and had not been the subject of any previous complaints, a source told Dailymail.com.

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