An Uber passenger has been charged with homicide for capturing and killing her driver in El Paso, Texas. Phoebe D. Copas, 48, allegedly shot her driver, Daniel Piedra Garcia, 52, a number of instances within the head, whereas within the backseat of his Nissan Maxima, in keeping with a Metropolis of El Paso information launch.
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Copas claimed she thought Garcia was kidnapping her and taking her outdoors the U.S. after seeing a visitors signal for Juarez, Mexico, however an preliminary investigation performed by the El Paso Police Division mentioned within the information launch that its findings “don’t assist {that a} kidnapping occurred or that Piedra was veering from Copas’ vacation spot.”
Copas was arrested on the scene and was initially held on the El Paso County Detention Facility the place she was charged with aggravated assault inflicting critical bodily harm and was issued a $1 million bond.
Garcia was critically wounded on the scene and was positioned on life assist for 5 days however when medical doctors instructed his household he could be on a ventilator for the remainder of his life, his household made the tough determination to let him go. “My aunt didn’t need to see him endure,” Didi Lopez, Piedra’s niece, instructed The Washington Submit. “However, actually, we don’t suppose that we made the choice to disconnect him. That call was made for him the second that these bullets went into his head.”
Following Garcia’s loss of life, Copas was charged with homicide and her bond was elevated to $1.5 million.
In keeping with the affidavit, considered by The Washington Submit, Copas was reportedly on her method to meet her boyfriend in El Paso at a on line casino when she noticed the Juarez, Mexico signal, which is seven miles throughout the El Paso border. Detectives reported within the affidavit that after they arrived at about 2:20 p.m., Copas’ boyfriend was pulling her from the crashed automobile, and so they allegedly noticed her “drop all the pieces she was holding in her fingers on the bottom,” which included the gun, in keeping with the criticism.
Uber has a number of choices to make sure passenger security together with an in-app emergency button that sends real-time location info and journey info on to the police when the person calls or texts 911. The app additionally has a Stay Assist characteristic that connects riders with an ADT security agent and RideCheck to verify in with riders and drivers to make sure they’re protected within the case of an extended sudden cease or attainable crash.
Nonetheless, authorities say that Copas made no try to name the police earlier than or instantly after the incident, however in keeping with The Submit, the criticism alleges that she had texted pictures of Garcia to her boyfriend previous to dialing 911.
“We’re horrified by the rider’s actions that took the lifetime of Mr. Garcia,” an Uber spokesperson mentioned in an emailed assertion to Gizmodo. “We’ve got been in contact together with his household, and our ideas are together with his family members throughout this unimaginably tough time. We banned the rider as quickly as we have been made conscious of what occurred and have been in touch with police.”
Copas’ bond listening to which was scheduled for Friday has been postponed and a brand new listening to date has not been set.
Lopez instructed CBS Austin that she believed the continued stereotypes in regards to the Mexican border and the degrees of security there led Copas to wrongly assume she was at risk. “They make assumptions, they see stuff perhaps on the information, perhaps on social media, and stuff that’s not essentially true and after they come right here they arrive with out actually figuring out.” She continued: “They make assumptions, they see stuff perhaps on the information, perhaps on social media, and stuff that’s not essentially true and after they come right here they arrive with out actually figuring out.”
Garcia’s spouse Ana Piedra arrange a GoFundMe web page, to assist along with her husband’s hospital and funeral bills, which has already garnered almost $84,000 in donations.