'But she's worried, she's shocked': Uber driver accused of holding woman captive claims misunderstanding
A Brisbane Uber driver who allegedly kidnapped a young female passenger has told 7 News it was a misunderstanding.
Police say the alleged victim was held against her will for more than an hour during a trip that should have lasted minutes.
Driver Umar Gammeda is accused of holding the terrified young woman captive, but he says he didn’t mean to.
“The GPS signal is, just got lost. And just we go the wrong way,” he told 7 News.
His alleged victim was picked up from her Paddington home just after 10 pm on Saturday night.
Her destination was the Wickham Hotel in Fortitude Valley, a six-kilometre trip that should have taken around 13 minutes at a cost $20.
But she was charged almost $70 after being in his car for more than an hour.
The alleged victim has told 7 News she believes the driver reacted badly upon learning she has a female partner.
When he drove past her destination she became concerned, crying and hanging out the window in a bid to get someone's attention.
“I told her be patient, just a few minutes to wait,” Mr Gammeda said.
“But she's worried, she's shocked and she said I'm going to get out from the car.”
They ended up in the Clem 7 tunnel.
“When we are going in the tunnel she told me to stop, but it's not safe to stop there.”
The 25-year-old woman finally got out after opening the door of the moving car on the M1 motorway.
“She called police, I also called police to explain the accident,” Mr Gammeda said.
Mr Gammeda is the third Brisbane Uber Driver charged with a serious criminal offence in the past six weeks.
Blair Davis of the Taxi Council wants security cameras fitted in all vehicles, saying they “would exonerate the driver if the driver was innocent, it would provide evidence for the claim by the victim”.
The 45-year-old driver will appear in court next month to face the charge of deprivation of liberty.
His Uber account has been blocked.
