
By Joe Johnson
Police are investigating the armed robbery of an Uber passenger in downtown Athens and there are questions about whether the driver might have been involved in setting up her own customer.
The incident, according to police, occurred early the morning of January 18, after the victim and his female companion were picked up by an Uber on College Avenue. An unknown black male also got into the car, but the driver didn’t tell him to leave, only asking the victim for more money, police said.
The victim then told the driver to let him out near an ATM on West Hancock Avenue, police said, and when he got out of the car the male followed.
As soon as the ATM dispensed its cash, the male lunged at the victim with a knife and during a struggle the victim was cut on his cheek.
The 23-year-old victim was able to disarm the robber, at which time he and his companion quickly left the area, unaware of what became of the man and Uber driver.
He described both as being between 30 and 40 years old and said the Uber vehicle was a 2019 Toyota Corolla and provided police with its tag number.
Police later located the Toyota at its registered address on Martin Circle, but at the time had no contact with the driver.
Police would not comment further, citing the active investigation.
Uber and Lyft are both awful. I would NEVER take one. They do little to no background checking and are currently fighting tens of thousands of criminal cases against them.
Is a majority of the crime in Athens committed by black peoples?