After an Uber driver was arrested and charged last week in connection with kidnapping a woman, taking her to College Park and assaulting her, the Prince George’s County Police Department is reminding students to use caution while using ride-share apps, Officer Tyler Hunter said.
A preliminary investigation of the incident by county detectives revealed 29-year-old Westagne Pierre of Greenbelt was working as an Uber driver on the night of Oct. 18, when he picked up the woman in Washington, according to a news release.
The woman’s friend had requested an Uber ride to bring the woman to her home in Fairfax County, Virginia, because she was intoxicated, according to a report from The Washington Post. But instead of taking her home, Pierre drove her to the Budget Inn, a College Park motel, The Post wrote.
At the motel, Pierre took the motionless victim from his car and took her into a room for an unspecified period of time, according to the news release. Police learned that the suspect used the woman’s credit card at a nearby 7-Eleven a short time afterward, according to The Post.
Pierre — who is in custody at the Department of Corrections — faces charges of kidnapping, assault and fraudulently using the victim’s credit card, Hunter said. There are no additional charges at this point, but police are working with the State’s Attorney’s Office to determine if more charges are applicable, he added.
Hunter said he suggests University of Maryland students take extra steps to ensure their safety while using any type of ride-share app, such as having a friend or family member track their location or calling police if a rider notices something out of the ordinary.
“As these applications become more and more popular, especially with ride-sharing, just keep in mind that the person you’re getting in a car with is a stranger,” Hunter said. “Use the safety tips you may have learned when you were very young that your parents may have told you.”
Junior government and politics major Jessica Brodsky, who used Uber almost every day during the summer, does exactly that.
“I’ve always been very skeptical and cautious about using Uber, just because it’s a complete stranger [driving],” Brodsky said. “So before I get in the car, I make sure I screenshot the driver information that they send and send it to a local friend or my parents.”
When using Uber, Brodsky rarely rides alone and makes sure her location is being tracked or she is on the phone with someone she trusts during the trip, she said. She forces her friends to take the same precautions when they use any ride-share app, she added.
“My mom is very on top of that and drilled it into my head,” Brodsky said. “This [incident] just kind of reaffirms that it’s not me being crazy, but me being smart.”
