Photo: whotv.com
Ride-sharing services are very convenient: they are efficient and hassle-free, and even remove unnecessary interactions between passengers and drivers. But they do not make for suitable escape vehicles.
Four juveniles found this out last weekend, when, after supposedly taking part in a shooting with a rival gang in Des Moines, Iowa, they tried to flee the scene by hailing an Uber, ABC affiliate, WHOTV reports. They got away from the scene alright, but they didn’t make it very far before police pulled over the Uber and had all of them – minus the driver – in handcuffs.
As for the driver, Michael Street, he says he’s thankful he wasn’t hurt considering both sides had weapons and he was caught in the middle. He thought something was off about the passengers he picked up because he saw police cars on the street, but he didn’t want to judge. The cops had been called about a possible shooting.
Street had only been driving his Ford pickup for Uber for 3 weeks. “I asked these guys ‘are you running from these cops?’ And they said ‘just get us to where we are going’,” Street recalls. So he just drove.
He didn’t even make it a mile to the destination pinned in the Uber app, before he was pulled over by the police at an intersection. Street says he saw one of the kids reaching for a backpack that contained a handgun, which is when he rushed out of his car, yelling to warn the cops about the weapon.
“Thank God they knew and sensed I was just the Uber driver,” he says. “It could have gotten uglier than it was. I’m thankful to be here today.”
Des Moines police are still trying to tie the 4 juveniles to the shooting, because the weapon discovered inside the Uber hadn’t been used in that incident. However, Sgt. Paul Parizek has no doubt the case will be solved. “They were somehow involved in this incident, some kind of dispute, and they fired a gunshot and then called an Uber to get away. Not a real good plan,” he adds.
As for the driver, Michael Street, he says he’s thankful he wasn’t hurt considering both sides had weapons and he was caught in the middle. He thought something was off about the passengers he picked up because he saw police cars on the street, but he didn’t want to judge. The cops had been called about a possible shooting.
Street had only been driving his Ford pickup for Uber for 3 weeks. “I asked these guys ‘are you running from these cops?’ And they said ‘just get us to where we are going’,” Street recalls. So he just drove.
He didn’t even make it a mile to the destination pinned in the Uber app, before he was pulled over by the police at an intersection. Street says he saw one of the kids reaching for a backpack that contained a handgun, which is when he rushed out of his car, yelling to warn the cops about the weapon.
“Thank God they knew and sensed I was just the Uber driver,” he says. “It could have gotten uglier than it was. I’m thankful to be here today.”
Des Moines police are still trying to tie the 4 juveniles to the shooting, because the weapon discovered inside the Uber hadn’t been used in that incident. However, Sgt. Paul Parizek has no doubt the case will be solved. “They were somehow involved in this incident, some kind of dispute, and they fired a gunshot and then called an Uber to get away. Not a real good plan,” he adds.
Google News