Calgary woman warns others after Uber driver makes sexual advances, deviates from route
A Calgary woman is urging other women to stay vigilant when using ride-share services after a disturbing Uber ride left her feeling unsafe.
Ekaya Dos Santos, 23, was picked up from a nightclub by an Uber driver around 2 a.m. on July 19 but quickly became uncomfortable when the man started making unwanted sexual advances to her, insisted on buying her alcohol and, at one point, deviated from her route home.
“I just keep thinking, what if I was more intoxicated that night, like I couldn’t sit up straight or wasn’t fully there?” she said. “What would have happened if I was a kid and didn’t fully know what to do? It was a very scary situation.”
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Uber has since banned the driver and the City of Calgary has revoked his ride-sharing license to operate in the region, but Dos Santos wants more women to be aware of the risks of riding alone.
Late night ride takes a disturbing turn
Dos Santos told CTV News the drive began normal enough with the driver, who had a five-star review, asking her about her night.
However, she started to feel uncomfortable when he suggested she return to the club with him the next day.
He also offered to pull over several times so she could sit up front with him, which she politely declined.
She said the man began to make sexual advances, which made her extremely uncomfortable, so started to record the conversation on her phone.
In the video, the driver can be heard making a sexually explicit remark to Dos Santos, asking if she had engaged in sexual activity that night.
“Did you f*** tonight?” he is heard saying in the video. “I haven’t f***cked for quite some time now.”
She said she tried to remain polite and friendly during the ride, hoping to brush off his comments without escalating the situation — especially since she was alone in his car.
“Just tried to play it really relaxed I suppose.”
‘Never thought I’d have to say please’
She said she was also visibly intoxicated and the man kept insisting on buying her alcohol or going to drink together to have sex, which she continued to decline.
Dos Santos said she became worried for her safety when the driver deviated from the route on the app, starting to drive away from her home.
“I immediately felt my heart drop to my stomach and asked, ‘where are we going?’” and he said, ‘the liquor store.’ I was like, ‘I really just want to go home please,’ and I never thought I’d have to say please. It was just a really weird thing.”
Dos Santos said he began to drive her back home but was still concerned what the man might do after dropping her off.
There was no further issues during the rest of the drive, but she was still concerned.
“I got home, I was safe, but I just felt creeped out but I was like, is he going to come back to my home tomorrow? Like, he knows where I live,” she said.
Driver banned from app; license revoked from city
Dos Santos reported the encounter with Uber immediately after she was dropped off at home.
The driver had been with the company since 2014 and had no previous complaints.
The company said it investigated and has since removed the driver from the platform.
“This behaviour is unacceptable and has no place on the Uber platform,” the company said in a statement.
“We take reports of this nature very seriously, and have banned the driver’s access to the app. We stand ready to assist law enforcement in any way we can.”
The Calgary Police Service confirmed it investigated the situation but determined nothing criminal occurred.
However, the driver’s ride-share license was revoked by the City of Calgary, which regulates the transportation network companies (TNCs) within the city.
“We’ve been working closely with the Calgary Police Service and the TNC involved and can say the driver is no longer operating or licensed within the city,” said Cory Porter, the deputy chief of vehicle for hire, public vehicle standards, emergency management and community safety.
He said anyone with safety concerns during a ride share can contact 311. If any rider feels they are in danger, Porter says they should call 911.
“If something seems strange, terminate that trip immediately. You can share your trip details with family, friends, or loved ones so they can be aware that the driver deviated from the route. Once that trip is complete and you’re in a safe place, please reach out and we’ll investigate,” he said.
Uber safety features
Uber said it has several safety features in place to try and keep riders and drivers safe, including background checks and screenings that drivers must pass every year.
The company said it also partnered with Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network to roll out a sexual assault and misconduct informational module to all its drivers in Canada.
It is also testing a ‘women preferences’ feature for riders in some areas in the United States that allows female riders to request a female driver, however there are no plans to share the option in Canada at this point.
Dos Santos would like to see the option in Canada.
“Not only does it demonstrate poor actions from a man, but it also demonstrates the ride share itself needs more protection for its drivers, and it encourages people to pay more attention to safety features. At least that’s what it did for me, I learnt the hard way.”
There is an emergency button on the Uber app where users can call or text 911 and share the real-time location and trip information with an operator whenever they are concerned.
There is also a feature that allows riders and drivers to record audio during a trip.
Dashcam video leads to arrest in killing of Uber driver
- By Liam Reilly, CNN
- Feb 22, 2022
An Uber driver found dead near Pittsburgh was robbed and killed by her passenger, with key moments of the incident recorded on the car’s dash camera and leading to an arrest, according to a criminal complaint.
Police were called to a wooded area last Saturday, where they recovered the body of Christina Spicuzza, 38, with a single gunshot wound to the head, authorities said in the complaint. Spicuzza had been reported missing by her family a day earlier, when she failed to return, police said in a news release.
An Amazon driver spotted Spicuzza’s body and called authorities, Allegheny County Police Assistant Superintendent Victor Joseph said at a news conference Saturday announcing the arrest. “It was approximately 40 feet I believe off the roadway. It was actually on the other side of a creek at a little plateau area in a wooded area. It was within a few hundred yards of a residential neighborhood.”
The driver’s cellphone and dash camera were missing from the car, detectives with the Allegheny County police department said in the criminal complaint.
A passerby found Spicuzza’s discarded cellphone nearby and turned it over to police, who used data it contained to trace her movements the night she disappeared, and reviewed recent calls, the complaint stated. Detectives also conferred with Uber about their records from that night, the complaint showed.
Based on the timing of the incident, investigators zeroed in on one rider, Calvin Crew, 22, and probed his cellphone records, comparing the times and locations of his Uber ride, along with surveillance video recorded along the route, and phone conversations with his girlfriend before and after the ride, according to the complaint.
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Police later recovered the car’s dash camera, found close to where Crew’s ride had ended, the complaint showed. The dashcam, Joseph said, contained “critical evidence” and was recovered “in the area where the trip was ending.”
Video recorded by the camera showed Crew holding a gun to Spicuzza’s head, and later showed him grabbing the camera as the recording ended, the complaint stated.
Spicuzza reportedly told Crew, “Come on, I have a family.” Crew responded, “I got a family too, now drive.” Spicuzza reportedly went on to say, “I’m begging you; I have four kids.” The video ends shortly after, as Crews grabbed the camera, police said in the complaint.
“We believe this was a robbery,” said Allegheny County Police Superintendent Christopher Kearns, at the news conference, adding the investigation is ongoing, as authorities seek to determine a motive. Kearns said Spicuzza and Crew did not know each other.
Authorities acknowledged the use of cellphone data aided in their investigation. “As society changes with more technology being part of people’s lives, it changes investigations also,” Kearns explained. “Just as everyone has a cellphone with them all the time, that generally provides evidence that helps us with the investigation.”
Crew is facing charges of criminal homicide, robbery, firearms violations and tampering with evidence, Kearns said. Crew had previously been detained on an outstanding warrant on a gun charge and had been released after making bond, Kearns noted.
Crew has not yet been assigned a public defender, according to the district attorney’s office. He is currently being held without bond at the Allegheny County Jail, and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for February 25, according to court documents.
Joseph described Spicuzza’s death as “a senseless killing that left four children without a mother.”
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Uber, Navideh Forghani, told CNN Monday the company is devoted to driver safety.
“No family should have to suffer such an unimaginable loss and our thoughts are with Christi’s loved ones during this difficult time,” Forghani said. “We’ve been in touch with law enforcement to support the investigation and are grateful for everything they’ve done.”
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