An Uber ride turned into a nightmare for a Central California woman after the driver allegedly tried to kidnap her and showed her nude images of himself during the drive.
The incident happened Sunday afternoon in downtown Clovis, a suburb of Fresno.
Ty Wood, the public information officer for the Clovis Police Department, confirmed the report to Fox News Digital, saying police responded to an intersection in Clovis around 12:30 p.m. for a report of a possible sex offense.
Wood said the adult female victim reported that an Uber driver was asking her personal questions that made her uncomfortable.
The victim, a 20-year-old female, then said, at some point during the ride, the Uber driver showed her a sexually explicit photo on his cellphone, Wood said.
“He pulled out his phone, and he pulled out a picture of him, his private area, him touching himself and, like, and I saw it, like, my eyes just got really big because I was really scared,” the victim said in an interview with KSEE24. “I was like, ‘What the heck?’ And I was like, I just started saying like, ‘No, no, please, just let me out, please.’”
A family friend confirmed the claim to Fox News Digital, saying she felt like he was going to kidnap her.
The victim then told officers she thought he was trying to lock her inside the car, but she was able to get out of the Uber driver’s car and ran away when they were stopped by a red light.
“She calls me and is hysterical and tells me she thinks she was almost kidnapped. This is what was going through this innocent girl’s head as she was just trying to get to the nail salon on Sunday afternoon. I just couldn’t believe this happened and was so bothered by it,” her friend told Fox News Digital.
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“I just was scared, and I ran out for my life. It was the scariest thing I ever had to deal with,” the victim said.
Close friends of the victim put out a notice on Instagram, showing the Uber driver, who was identified as “FNU,” meaning “First Name Unavailable.”
“Hello everybody, we want to bring awareness about this predator that is in our community. He sexually harassed, showed inappropriate sexual pictures, held our friend against her will in his car, bypassed her destination, and tried to kidnap her,” the post said.
Wood said this is still an ongoing investigation, but the department was contacted by an attorney who is now representing the driver.
“He is no longer wanted for questioning, and, at this time, the case is being forwarded to the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office,” Wood said.
Uber also issued a statement to Fox News Digital about the situation, acknowledging it was aware of the case and takes reports like this seriously.
“The rider’s report is deeply concerning. We have removed this driver’s access to the app while we continue to investigate. We stand ready to assist law enforcement with their investigation,” a spokesperson from Uber said.
The victim’s friends also claimed Uber refunded the victim for her ride and apologized for the incident.
“Shame on Uber for not doing more than telling her that they are sorry and refunding her money back. Uber, you need to do more to keep your passengers safe,” a post said.
Uber did not confirm or deny this claim to Fox News Digital about the refund or what was said to the victim.
The spokesperson for Uber added Uber’s safety team reviews information constantly and investigates any issues.
“All potential drivers are required to go through our background check process, which checks MVR and criminal offenses at the local and federal level. Drivers are re-screened annually, and we also have a continuous background check process in place that monitors for new offenses,” the spokesperson for Uber said.
The victim did not speak with Fox News Digital, saying she was overwhelmed and trying to cope with what happened.
