Uber passenger in ‘fear for his life’ when driver flees from police, Tennessee cops say

An Uber driver fled police at a traffic stop, taking a passenger “in fear for his life” along for the ride, Tennessee authorities said.

The 23-year-old driver was charged with aggravated kidnapping, evading arrest while operating a motor vehicle and disregarding a red light, Shelby County records show.

However, he pleaded guilty to evading arrest on March 13, and the other charges were dropped, records show. His attorney declined to offer further comment to McClatchy News.

The passenger told the Memphis Police Department that a friend requested an Uber ride for him at around 4 a.m. on Feb. 28, according to an arrest affidavit.

The driver picked him up in a white Infiniti M37. As they were driving, the driver ran a red light and got pulled over, police said.

An officer reported he pulled over the vehicle, and the man in the backseat said he was an Uber passenger. When he asked the driver for his license, the man hesitated, the officer said.

Then the driver fled the traffic stop at a “high rate of speed” with the scared passenger still in the car, according to police. The officer saw the passenger try to get out of the car at this point, but the door closed on him.

The passenger reported the driver jumped curbs and ran red lights as he pleaded with him to stop and let him out. Eventually, the Uber driver slowed down enough that the man was able to jump out, police said.

The passenger identified the driver out of a lineup on March 4, and the man was taken into custody on March 12, records show.

A one-year sentence on the evading arrest charge was suspended, according to Shelby County records.

“We can’t imagine how scary this must have been for the rider, and we’re relieved they were not injured,” a spokesperson for Uber said in a statement to McClatchy News. “This driver’s actions are unacceptable, and we’ve removed his access to the Uber app. We stand ready to support law enforcement with their investigation.”

This story was originally published March 14, 2024 at 3:57 PM with the headline "Uber passenger in ‘fear for his life’ when driver flees from police, Tennessee cops say."