Two Pretoria women have recounted their harrowing experiences with an Uber driver who they claim robbed and beat them up recently.
Following a post on social media about their incident, another resident came forward claiming they had a similar incident the week before.
The incident occurred on Saturday night on Solomon Mahlangu Drive between Old Farm Road and Haymeadow Crescent.
One of the victims, who wished to remain anonymous, told Rekord that they are still rattled after the incident.
Their story started to make the rounds on social media after local singer Irene-Louise van Wyk shared her friend’s post on her Facebook page.
“Tessa and I were robbed, beaten, and dumped by our Uber [driver] last night,” the post read.
“There was another guy in the boot who took all our belongings from us.
“We tried to run away with everything on us, but unfortunately we were caught.”
She said that they walked to the nearest petrol station with torn clothes for help.
The vehicle was a white Honda Jazz with a large crack on the left side of the windscreen.
She said that she opened a police case and was awaiting a response from Uber.
The other victim told Rekord that this is the second time she had been robbed while using the app.
Rekord contacted Uber which said in a statement that the incident was shocking, and a clear violation of its guidelines.
“Regarding the alleged incident on July 15, we have done a review, and cannot find any details that match the information,” the e-hailing company said.
The company could, however, confirm the earlier incident reported to them on July 10.
Kayleigh Marx saw the post on Irene-Louise van Wyk’s Facebook page and was shocked about the similarities to her incident.
After watching the Springboks at Loftus on Saturday, July 8, she and her friends went to a popular spot in Menlo Park.
After their celebrations, they ordered an Uber to pick them up in the early hours of July 9.
“We checked the number plates, and they matched. I had never had an issue riding with Uber.”
Marx said that the trip began without any indication of what was to come, but the driver then went the wrong way and brought the car to a stop.
The car stopped at the NG church in Lynnwood, near where they were picked up.
“My friend said at this point that something was wrong, but the driver said that he wanted to check where we were going.”
Marx and her friend locked their doors. Two men then appeared from nearby and tried to gain access to the vehicle.
Marx said that the Uber driver tried to unlock the doors, but that her friend locked them again.
The driver reached over and hit her friend to try and stop him from locking the doors.
He then pepper-sprayed her friend.
Marx had her phone taken away but managed to escape.
She said that the robbers threatened to shoot her, although she had not seen any guns.
Her friend was attacked by the driver and the two men, giving her a chance to escape.
Marx ran back to the bar to get help while she says their attackers were hitting and kicking her friend.
The attackers drove away in the Hyundai Elantra.
Marx said that she reported the incident to Uber, who told her that the driver had been suspended pending an investigation.
“I was concerned at this point that this was not the first nor last time these guys would do this,” she said.
“I don’t think I will ever be able to get into an [e-hailing car] again,” said Marx.
“You get a lift to try and be responsible and do the right thing, but now it feels like you can’t trust them.”
When Marx shared her story, they say they realised that the images of the driver from Marx’s incident appeared to resemble the man that was in the boot in the second incident.
SAPS spokesperson Captian Daniel Mavimbela confirmed that a case had been opened with the SAPS.
However, he said that at this stage, they could not confirm that the driver could be tied to both cases.
Uber told Rekord the incidents were “deeply regrettable”.
It confirmed that Marx’s incident was reported on July 10. The company reached out to Marx to provide the necessary support and outline the steps it was taking.
“Safety is our utmost priority, and we take any incident of this nature very seriously.
“Our safety and security teams conducted the necessary investigations and may take actions ranging from deactivating the relevant account to reporting the issue to law enforcement,” Uber said in a statement.
Uber said that it has added several safety features, especially for the South African market, including an in-app emergency button which dispatches armed security to your location.
** Article amended
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