A Texas woman was arrested after she allegedly carjacked her Uber driver because they were taking too long to drop her off at her destination.
Neusha Alexandra Afkami, 27, is facing charges of unauthorised use of a vehicle following the incident just after midnight on Sunday. According to an affidavit obtained by FOX7, Ms Afkami ordered an Uber from her hotel to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.
The driver told officers with the Austin Police Department that Ms Afkami had expressed frustration the ride was taking so long just moments before she forcibly grabbed his phone and threw it out of the moving car’s window.
When the driver stopped and got out to retrieve the phone, Ms Afkami allegedly got behind the wheel and drove away.
The Uber driver was left stranded on E Cesar Chavez going to Airport Blvd and alerted APD officers stationed at the airport.
Neusha Alexandra Afkami, 27, is facing charges of unauthorised use of a vehicle— (Travis County Jail)
The officers managed to arrest Ms Afkami before she boarded her flight, and located the car, a 2016 Chevrolet Cruz, in front of a terminal.
Ms Afkami is also accused of using the driver’s credit card to purchase nearly $120 worth of items at an airport store.
When questioned by detectives about the ordeal, she said she had made the driver aware that, “[she] needed to get to the airport, so [she was] going to take [the] car and drop it off at Southwest Airlines.”
Ms Afkami was held at Travis County Jail before posting a $10,000 bond, according to records reviewed by The Independent.
She is expected to appear in court on 9 January.
According to The Markup, more than 120 Uber drivers were the victims of carjackings or attempted carjackings between 2020 and 2021. Five of them were killed during that period.
