Man Arrested for Impersonating an Uber Driver, Charged With Kidnapping Young Woman
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COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO)– A 43-year-old man allegedly impersonated an Uber driver and kidnapped a young woman. A scary experience for a 20-year-old woman who says she thought the suspect was working for Uber when she hopped into his black Dodge Charger but quickly found out, she was not going home.
Andre Bouknight is charged with kidnapping after police say he told the woman he was an Uber driver and he could take her home. The victim tells police she willingly got into Bouknight’s car, but he drove her to various places across the city and refused to let her out. This incident has made others a little weary about using the ridesharing app.
“Being a woman it’s a little scary,” Rachel Parkes said, a frequent Uber user. Parkes said she is visiting from Dallas and has used Uber a lot in the Columbia area since she is from out of town.
” Something as safe as Uber is starting to get unsafe, or someone is trying to make it unsafe. So it is a little scary,” Maranda Holliday said, also an Uber user.
CPD said the victim finally used her cell phone to contact friends, who called 911 for her and helped CPD locate the vehicle. Many people around the Columbia area admit to using Uber, especially for nights out on the town.
“I used it constantly in Dallas. Every single day,” Parkes said.
“It makes me a little less likely, I might just pick a friend or do ‘ennie, meanie, miney, moe’ for who’s going to be a DD that night,” Sabriya Brooks said.
CPD has some tips for when riding in a taxi or an Uber:
-Verify your ride through the app.
-If riding alone, sit in the backseat for more mobility and access to an exit.
-Uber has a ‘share status’ within the app allowing you to share your driver’s name, photo, license plate, and location with a loved one. And as always, call 9-1-1 in case of an emergency
“When you’re younger you’re always tought about strangers and stuff, but now that we’re older I don’t think we think about it as much. So now this just brings it to mind again. Like we have to be more precautious of who we’re riding with,” Brooks said.
“I would caution them using anything like that. I’d feel safer if they use taxi cabs, but I wouldn’t feel safe either way really,” Lauren Canfield said. Canfield has never used Uber, but says as a parent, he would not want his children to ever use the service.
CPD officers also charged Bouknight with Possession of Cocaine, Open Container, and Driving under Suspension. The victim was found unharmed. Bouknight was at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center but was released on bond. The victim was found unharmed after the whole ordeal.
