A 17-year-old Durban boy alleges he had to jump from a moving vehicle on Tuesday afternoon (yesterday) when an Uber driver pointed a gun at him.
The boy’s mom, Julie*, told YOU she’d ordered an Uber for her son, David*.
“It’s just about 10 minutes’ drive from our home to his friend’s house,” she says.
“The trip started completely normally and David and the driver chatted about music.
“Out of the blue, the driver asked him, ‘What would you do if I pointed a gun at you?’ David thought the man was joking and laughed. David then answered, ‘I’ll slap you’.”
The driver then got another call, she says, and, just before arriving at David’s destination, pulled out a gun and pointed it at the teen.
“We don’t know what kind of weapon it was,” Julie says. “But before the driver could say anything, David jumped out of the car.
“The driver stopped and got out of the car in an attempt to follow him but a private security vehicle drove past. The Uber driver got back in his car and drove away.”
David ran to his friend’s home. He and his mom later laid charges at the Umbilo SAPS.
An officer at the police station confirmed to YOU that a case had been opened which will be investigated by the Berea SAPS. Julie says David wasn’t robbed.
“Both Uber and the police responded quickly. We called the Uber emergency number and they were very sympathetic, promising to investigate. I also got a call from Uber in Ireland promising an investigation would follow,” Julie says.
“I’m livid. Now my child can’t walk anywhere, cycle or even use an Uber because it’s unsafe. He’s lost even more of his freedom because now I have to drive him everywhere.”
Incidents like this have no place in the company, Uber SA says in a statement.
“When something like this happens, we remove a driver’s access to the app and we investigate the matter,” a spokesperson for the company says.
Uber doesn’t allow its drivers to carry weapons in the vehicle while they’re on duty, the statement says.
“The safety of our clients and driver partners are our highest priority.”
*Names changed