A Cape Town Uber driver has been arrested after a woman sustained injuries when she allegedly jumped out of a moving car amid an attempt to kidnap her.
The 28-year-old woman is now demanding compensation from the e-hailing company, Uber, to cover the damages caused.
The woman, Colleen Smith* (not her real name), said the incident happened on the evening of May 26 after working the late shift as a waitress at a restaurant in Blouberg.
Smith said it was around 9:30pm when she requested an Uber to go home.
“I made sure that the details on my phone matched with the driver who came to pick me up. I gave him my Uber driver my four digit pin which was 4955. I had set it in my app so that the driver can use it to start the trip.
“He drove and passed my house and as I was about to tell him that he had passed my stop, he called out my name and pulled out a gun and told me not to move or he will shoot me.”
She explained that the driver told her he wanted money, and when she told him she didn't have any, he allegedly grabbed her phone and drove to a very dark road along the beach.
“I had my house keys with my knuckle dusters shaped like a cat, I don't think he knew it was a weapon, we had driven quite far at this point. He told me to give him my house keys and put my hands out so he could cable tie them.
“My concern was this man knows where I live and my three-year-old daughter together with my 60-year-old mother-in-law are alone at my house. I thought about what would happen to them if he did something to me and then went back to my house,” she said.
Smith said she had to think on her feet and refused to give the driver her house keys. Instead, she made a daring move by jumping out of the car while it was still in motion.
“I told him I won’t give him my house keys and I'm getting out the car. He told me I will get hurt if I did that and I told him I don’t care.”
Smith said this was followed by a fight, during which the driver hit her with a gun while she used her knuckle dusters to defend herself.
“I continued to hit him with my knuckle dusters and kicked him. After that, I opened my door and stuck my foot out to see how fast the car was going and then I quickly jumped out,” she said.
She said she landed on the pavement, rolled into the bushes, and ran quickly until she reached the road. There, she spent at least an hour trying to find a car to take her to the hospital.
“I was bleeding and confused, there was blood coming from everywhere. I took my work shirt off and held it against my head just in case the bleeding was bad. Eventually a bus stopped and I asked the man to take me to hospital,” she explained.
She said the driver was eventually apprehended within two days, and the only item she managed to recover was her engagement ring.
“But there’s been a mass of financial loss I endured due to this incident, I had to lose days at work because working at a restaurant is a no-work no-pay rule. I also had to take less hours because I now fear travelling at night.
‘’I also have bills to settle for my daughters medical condition and I’m behind payment because of this incident, it has drained me financially,” she said.
Smith sent IOL a series of emails where she was in communication with insurance company, American International Group (AIG).
In an email dated June 21, AIG indicated that it will only cover the medical bills as they were not responsible for other claims.
“We can only deal with the policy Uber has in place with our company. Medical costs incurred etc...The conduct of the driver has been dealt with by Uber itself. We await correspondence from your attorney as indicated,” read the email.
According to Smith, her medical bills are still yet to be paid.
Meanwhile, Western Cape police spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Andrè Traut confirmed that a 32-year-old suspect was arrested and appeared in the Cape Town Magistrates’ Court where his matter was postponed to August 22, 2024.
"We are aware of the reported incident and we have zero tolerance for such behaviour. Where a driver is found to be in breach of our Community Guidelines, their access to the platform is immediately removed as the safety of everyone using the platform is a top priority. This remains an ongoing investigation and we are ready to assist the police as needed," Uber told IOL.
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