Chicago Uber driver carjacked by her own passenger
CHICAGO (CBS) – What began as a typical fare for an Uber driver ended with the woman being robbed and stranded.
It happened this past weekend. CBS 2's Andrew Ramos spoke to the victim in a story you'll only see on 2.
"Everything was normal until I arrived to the destination and right there is when they pulled out the gun," said the victim.
It's a nightmare for just about any Uber driver.
The victim in this case, who wants to remain anonymous, was carjacked by her own passengers. The robbery happened last Saturday around 10:30 a.m. in Englewood.
"You could tell they were kids by the sound of their voice," she said. "They got into the car and everything seemed normal other than having two ski masks on."
Their drop-off location was South Yale Avenue near West 70th Street. Before getting out of the car, one of the passengers brandished a firearm.
"He told me to take everything out, my wallet, my keys, my phone, to not try anything," she said. "Then the other person patted me down and he told me to basically go to the sidewalk, which I did because I complied with everything."
The duo then took of in her 2020 Chevy Malibu, serving up a severe financial hit for the victim who is a full-time driver with Uber.
"You know, whether we are doing Uber or Amazon or UPS or anything, we don't deserve any of that stuff," she said. "We're just doing our jobs like anybody else."
The incident is leading some in the community to take a stand.
Community activists Andrew Holmes is one of them. He's been passing out flyers, asking for tips that will lead to the arrests of those carjackers.
"We have to do our part to identify these perpetrators," he said. "Some of them are just copycats."
As Chicago police continues its investigation, Uber is also offering support to the driver.
A spokesperson said in a statement to CBS 2 that as soon as the incident was reported, "We banned the rider from the platform. We have a team dedicated to working with law enforcement and stand ready to assist in this investigation."
"My life right now is on pause until this gets settled," said the victim.