A Washington state Uber driver was accused of raping and kidnapping a highly intoxicated passenger who had ordered a ride through the app. The driver, Ahmed Ali, allegedly picked up the woman from a bar but instead of taking her home, he drove her to a secluded fishing spot where he assaulted her. The victim’s friends and family became worried when she did not return home, prompting them to track her location using the Life 360 app. They found her being sexually assaulted in the back of the Uber and quickly came to her rescue. Ali tried to escape, but the victim’s father and other family members beat him up, with the father even firing two shots at him, which missed.
Despite Ali’s injuries, law enforcement was able to apprehend him and take him to the hospital for treatment. The victim was unable to remember the assault due to her level of intoxication. Evidence from the Life 360 app showed that Ali had marked the victim as dropped off in the Uber app, but continued to transport her to the secluded location in an attempt to conceal the assault. Prosecutors argued that Ali’s actions demonstrated his intent to sexually assault the victim.
In court, Ali faced charges of rape in the second degree and kidnapping in the first degree with a sexual motivation aggravating circumstance. The judge set a $100,000 bail for Ali and ordered that he wear a GPS monitor if he were to post bail. The ride-sharing app, Uber, responded to the allegations by stating that such behavior has no place on their platform, and they take reports of this nature seriously. They removed Ali’s access to the platform once they were made aware of the incident and offered assistance to law enforcement in their investigation.
The victim’s friends had ordered the Uber ride for her because she was too intoxicated to return home alone. As the victim’s location moved away from the dropoff point on the Uber app, her friends became concerned and alerted her father. Using the Life 360 app, her father tracked her location to the secluded fishing spot where he found her with Ali. Despite Ali’s attempt to flee, he was caught by the family, resulting in a physical altercation with the victim’s father even firing shots at him to prevent his escape. The victim, being too intoxicated to give consent, was unable to remember the assault that occurred.
Authorities stated that the victim’s father’s quick actions in tracking her location and coming to her rescue likely prevented further harm to the victim. The violent nature of the assault and the attempt to conceal the victim’s location showed the severity of the crime committed by Ali. Prosecutors argued that Ali’s actions were premeditated, and the evidence supported that he had planned to assault the victim. Despite Ali’s injuries, law enforcement was able to detain him and begin the legal proceedings against him. The case has sparked outrage and concern for passenger safety when using ride-sharing services.
