NASHVILLE, Tenn (WTVF) — With a gun pointed at her head, an Uber driver was forced out of her car and told to run.
MNPD violent Crimes Division detectives Tuesday evening arrested three teenagers — ages 17, 16 and 15 — after they carjacked and crashed Ross' Toyota Corolla at the intersection of Murfreesboro Pike and Fesslers Lane while trying to evade police.
The car was taken during an armed carjacking at 2 a.m. Tuesday on Kellow Street, and the victim is Barbra Ross.
"I'm trying to get out of the car, I have to press myself up on the door just kind of slide out the door frame to get passed him as his gun is sitting on my forehead."
It should have been a normal pick-up for Ross, but it wasn't.
She got an alert to pick up a rider in North Nashville.
Ross says two young men were waiting and one got in the back seat and the other opened the passenger door.
Ross says when she went to move the items on her seat she looked up to a gun in her face.
"I'm in a panic. I throw my hands up and do a squeal. I'm shocked — like I freeze for a second and then I go to get out. I'm reaching for the passenger door, and I can't find it."
Ross went running through neighborhoods, knocking on doors until she ran to a Taco Bell and begged for help.
Ross says Uber should have alerted police when they noticed she was not moving her car or heading to her next stop.
"When they say they have you for your safety and they have all these safety features involved — no. They don't."
Ross would like to see a system where riders will have a picture attached to their accounts so drivers can verify them.
"We know nothing. We're in the dark. Like we have no idea who we're picking up. We don't know what they look like. We can't verify anything."
Ross has set up a GoFundMe account to help pay for expenses she's out of a car and a job.
Because the teens crashed her car, which was a rental, she is now not allowed to rent from Avis again.
A spokesperson for Uber said the following.
“What the driver experienced was terrifying, and we are thankful she wasn’t hurt. We are grateful to the investigators for their swift action that led to the arrests of the individuals involved.”
