Texas: Woman ‘shot Uber driver because she thought he was kidnapping her to Mexico’ | US News
A woman visiting Texas is said to have shot her Uber driver, thinking he was kidnapping her to Mexico, and snapped a picture of him when he was wounded before calling the police.
Phoebe Copas, 48, is accused of shooting Uber driver Daniel Piedra Garcia, 52, in the head on Highway US 54 in El Paso last Friday.
Copas, from Tompkinsville, Kentucky, ordered an Uber ride to take her to the Speaking Rock Casino, where she was planning to meet her boyfriend after work, according to court documents obtained by KTSM.
In the Uber, Copas saw road signs that read “Juarez, Mexico” and mistakenly believed Piedra Garcia was trying to kidnap her and take her there, the documents say.
According to the documents, Copas then pulled a “silver-brown pistol from her purse” and shot the driver.
The vehicle hit roadblocks and came to a stop near Loop 375.
Copas did not call police or emergency services to report that she was in danger before allegedly opening fire on Piedra Garcia, the documents say. She also allegedly took a picture of him after she shot him and texted it to her boyfriend before calling 911.
Police officers who responded to the scene said Copas’ friend helped her out of the crashed vehicle. They watched as she “dropped everything she was holding on the floor,” including the pistol,” the documents said.
Investigators said they found no evidence that Copas was kidnapped or that Piedra Garcia strayed from her desired target.
Copas was charged with grievous bodily harm.
Meanwhile, Piedra Garcia remained in intensive care. A family member told KTSM Wednesday that he had been removed from life support.
His wife, Ana Piedra, wrote on a GoFundMe page that he was “working for Uber when his passenger shot him in the head because she thought he was kidnapping her and taking her to Juarez, which he wasn’t.” Daniel just followed the route via the Uber app.
She added that he had just recovered from knee surgery and was “so excited to finally be able to provide some income to his family just for this tragedy to happen.”
Uber said it was “horrified by the driver’s actions.”
“Violence will not be tolerated on the Uber platform and we suspended the passenger as soon as we found out about the incident,” the company told KFOX 14. “Our thoughts are with Mr. Garcia and his loved ones and we were in touch too.” his family.’
The GoFundMe page had raised more than $16,000 as of Wednesday night.
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