He left a bar and asked Uber: a man claimed to be his driver and raped her

It was after midnight in a weekend of December 2018 when a woman about 20 years old left a bar in Seattle to return home.

A friend had called an Uber for her, so he went from one car to another in the busy streets of the city trying to locate his means of transport.

A man in a black vehicle, perhaps a Dodge Charger, convinced him that he was his driver. Which opened the door and slid into the back seat. About 10 km south, the driver stopped her and raped her, according to the statement she provided. the sheriff's office from King County this Tuesday.

The details of the case, published this week, are similar to the circumstances of a fatal incident which took place last week, during which a senior from the University of Southern California boarded a Chevrolet Impala Around two o'clock on Friday morning.

Samantha Josephson, 21, thought she had found the Uber vehicle she had ordered. But the driver did not work for the transport company and never took her to her home. Instead, the police said that Nathaniel D. Rowland, 24, murdered her and left her body in a wooded area, where she was found yesterday afternoon.

These shocking events underline the persistent security issues this caused the explosion of transport services.

Companies like Uber and Lyft They have implemented security measures such as panic buttons and annual checks of their drivers' antecedents. Uber, who has 3 million people driving in the worldHe asked his drivers to take portraits to make sure they are what they claim to be.

Uber and Lyft forbid the theft of identity as a condition of use for their platforms.

But ensuring the integrity of its users does not prevent anyone from completely avoiding the system reach a dark corner with hordes of desperate people to find a vehicle.

Ryan Abbott, a sergeant at the King County Sheriff's office in Washington, mentioned that In his department, an increase in this type of case has been demonstrated.

"It's really over"said the official in an interview with the Washington Post. "We see people posing as drivers to try to get people to their cars ".

Lawmakers in Southern California have already promised to act in response to the kidnapping and death of the student. The Travel Safety Act Samantha Josephson, introduced in On Tuesday, the State Chamber declared that drivers of these services had to mark their cars with well-lit indications.

However, Abbott said the pbadengers They must also be responsible.

"We must inform people that before getting into the cars, check the vehicle description, registration and all data that corresponds to the requested service.he remarked. Because once in the back seat of the car, you can I can not get out of there"

For three and a half months, the Washington authorities could not find any guilt in the December attack. The surveillance footage of the area captured a person of interest to the authorities near the victim's home.but in the forensic evidence available, no significant evidence was found.

During, the victim was afraid to be publicly badociated with his attacker if the details of the incident are revealed, the detectives must then work quietly. In addition, they presented an Uber recording orderwho has cooperated fully, said Abbott.

"We gave you a general idea -In this region of Seattle, on this date, at this time, if the vehicle matches any description, "he explained. But they said no. "

Finally, on Tuesday, the authorities they asked for help publicly, after ensuring that the victim would be protected. On his Facebook page, the sheriff posted online surveillance footage of the person of interest and explained: "Until now, King County detectives have been unable to badociate the subject with a travel sharing company. ".

Local media published the images and, Two days afterauthorities said they had their suspect.

A family member recognized the person, who drove a 34-year-old man to surrenderpolice said Wednesday.

Abbott said his uncle had seen the pictures in the news and he called to tell him that he was wanted by the police.

"He said" What, no way, I'm going to go clean my name & # 39;Abbott explained. Instead, he was retained in u.

an investigation for violation. He was not charged and his first appearance is scheduled for Thursday.

After obtaining his name, which has not been made public, the authorities sent him to Uber, who confirmed that he was not one of his employees, Abbott reported.