'I Like White Peoples:' Woman Says Uber Driver Took Off, Sent Racist Message
SANTA CLARITA (CBSLA) — A Santa Clarita Valley woman says she was a victim of discrimination after she ordered an Uber ride.
Pamela Williams says an Uber driver ditched her on Sunday – and she believes it has to do with race.
"When he finally looked over, he saw me and he drove right off and left," she said. "My heart sank."
Williams had ordered an Uber pool ride in Santa Clarita.
When the driver got near the pick-up spot, she says he took one look at her and drove off.
Williams said she called the driver on the phone but he said he wasn't coming back.
"He told me he's not coming back and I should cancel the ride," she said.
About two minutes after Williams got off the phone with the driver, he sent her a direct message on her Uber app. What she saw stunned her.
The first message I got said: "I'm not coming back and take you as a cheap pool rider. Cancel it and next time, I like white peoples."
"Just like, what? You know, your shoulder goes down. And you lose your breath. Just disappointed and shocked," she said.
Williams made a complaint to Uber Sunday night.
The next morning, she got an automated message from the company and a $5 refund.
A company representative did apologize to her Wednesday.
Uber sent us this statement saying: "The driver's access to the app has been removed while we continue to look into this incident."
On the phone, Uber told CBS2/KCAL9 - the company has a zero tolerance policy for discrimination and it's not aware of any other problems involving the driver.
"I think that I'm done dealing with Uber at this point," she said, adding she'll now use other sharing apps instead.