Twin Cities Teen’s Quick Thinking Thwarts Uber Driver’s Kidnapping

[FrodosPet]

Twin Cities Teen’s Quick Thinking Thwarts Uber Driver’s Kidnapping

http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2016/09/14/uber-kidnapping-west-st-paul/

September 14, 2016 10:08 PM By Kate Raddatz

Dahir Aden, 50, is charged with a felony count of false imprisonment after he refused to drive a teenage girl home and instead took her to his home in West St. Paul. The girl told police Aden planned to sexually assault her.

Investigators say it was the girl’s quick thinking that allowed her to be rescued.

According to the criminal complaint, Dahir Aden picked up a young woman from her North Minneapolis apartment the night of Aug. 4. He then picked up her friend — who was dropped off at work in south Minneapolis.

~ snip ~

Safety experts recommend traveling in pairs, checking an Uber driver’s rating on the app, and checking in with family and friends, all of which the victim DID in this case. Ultimately leading police to her.

~ snip ~

My apologies for not posting an equivalent story about a taxi driver doing something equally bad, but all the stories on Google news are about taxi driver victims of crime, or of other Uber drivers committing crimes.

Closest I could find was behind an anti-AdBlock on Times Of India.

I do acknowledge that Uber AND taxi drivers are pretty much the same. The vast majority are good people, though perhaps embittered a bit by their frustrating jobs at times.

But some evil people DO drive for a living, so please take precautions when using ANY vehicle for hire. Certainly, follow the steps outlined in the article. Make sure someone knows where are you going from and to. IIRC, Uber will let you send a link for others to track you.

Almost everyone has a camera phone - get a picture of the car, the license plate, and the driver, and send it to someone. Having a conversation on the phone might seem a bit rude, but your safety is more important than some driver's feelings. Heck, most of them would rather have you on the phone so they don't have to lie for the umpteenth time about whether they like driving cab or Uber/Lyft. And if you feel at all uncomfortable with someone, DO NOT RIDE WITH THEM!!!

[Nye Bevan]

1. "Taxi driver accused of killing prostitute might have other victims, court hears"

A taxi driver who killed a young woman and is on trial accused of murdering a prostitute might have other victims, a former senior detective told a court.

Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher brought Christopher Halliwell, 52, to justice for the murder of Sian O'Callaghan, 22, five years ago.

Halliwell, who is serving a life sentence for that killing, is now on trial accused of strangling Swindon sex worker Becky Godden, 20, and burying her in a remote field in Eastleach, Gloucestershire, in 2003.

Mr Fulcher, who no longer works for Wiltshire Police, told Bristol Crown Court that Halliwell had confessed to Miss Godden's murder and led him to the "exact spot" where her remains were later found.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/08/becky-godden-murder-taxi-driver-accused-of-killing-prostitute-mi/

Obviously you're much safer with an Uber driver than with a legacy taxi. With Uber there is an electronic record of who the driver is, the details of the car including the license plate number, and the trip is tracked electronically in real time. With a legacy cab that you hail on the street there will probably be no record anywhere.

[FrodosPet]

5. Even better - driverless cars

We need a guaranteed national income FAST as millions of Uber, Taxi, and truck drivers lose their jobs in the next 10 years. But the world will be a safer place with robots doing all the crappy jobs.

[Nye Bevan]

2. "Paul Durousseau is an American serial killer who murdered seven young women"

Paul Durousseau (born August 11, 1970)[1] is an American serial killer who murdered seven young women (including two who were pregnant) in the southeast United States between 1997 and 2003. German authorities suspect he may have killed several local women when he was stationed there with the Army during the early 1990s. Typically, Durousseau would gain the victim’s trust, enter the victim’s home, tie their hands, rape, then strangle them to death.[2] All of his known victims were young, single African-American women, some of whom were pregnant.

.....

In 2003, he worked as a taxi driver in Jacksonville. It was erroneously reported that Gator City Taxi Company failed to run a background check on Durousseau[5] and it is now accepted that this is how he first came into contact with some of his victims. The City Of Jacksonville Department of Motor Vehicle/Taxicab Inspection office is responsible for background investigations of all persons applying for taxicab driver permits. Durousseau was issued a Taxicab Driver Permit from the City of Jacksonville.[6]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Durousseau

Apology accepted, BTW.

[REP]

3. Their last crimes were 8 and 13 years ago

The English murderer is in court for a 13-year old murder.

[Nye Bevan]

4. "Cab driver arrested for sexually assaulting 2 passengers"

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – A Yellow Cab taxi driver was arrested Thursday for sexually assaulting a Belmont University student earlier this month.

Samir Hindieh, 56, was taken into custody after police identified him through a separate case involving a woman who was sexually assaulted by a cab driver in Nashville on New Year’s Day.

The Belmont student took a cab from Demonbreun Street, near campus, on Feb. 8 around 2 a.m.

The driver allegedly stopped the car and began to fondle her. The woman said she told the driver to stop, but he continued before sexually assaulting her.

http://wkrn.com/2015/02/20/cab-driver-arrested-for-sexual-assault-of-belmont-student/

[REP]

7. Getting closer - February of last year ...

[Nye Bevan]

8. How recent does a crime have to be to "count", in your opinion? (nt)

[gratuitous]

6. Not to mention

When a taxi stops, you can see their company, cab number, and other identifying information prominently marked, confident that it's on record with the company, and if the government authority regulating taxis is at all on the ball, with them, too. In cities that care about their citizens, taxis are equipped with interior cameras sending minute-by-minute photos to a central computer log, GPS locators that record every movement of the car, where it stops, how long it stops, and a driver who has had a criminal background check.