Uber Driver Kidnaps Couple, How Their Livestream Led to His Arrest
Richmond Police Department | Olufemi S. Olomola
Richmond Police Department | Olufemi S. Olomola
An Uber driver in Virginia kidnapped a man and his wife, taking them on a joyride while he attempted to chase someone down who had hit his car. What started out as a ride to dinner for a rare date night quickly turned into a nightmare for John Murray and his wife, Tameka Swann.
Olufemi S. Olomola, 38, is now in custody thanks to the couple live streaming their abduction. He’s been charged with two counts of abduction, felony hit and run and reckless driving.
It was Monday night when John Murray and his wife used the Uber app to get a ride to dinner, and within a few blocks of their journey, another driver rear-ended them and took off.
“I thought we were just going to pull over and they would exchange information, but the other driver pulled around us and took off,” said Murray. “I had no idea he was about to go fast and furious on us.”
Murray had begun live-streaming the initial accident on Facebook. Everything was calm enough at the beginning until they suddenly started to speed up.
The video then showed four minutes of the driver speeding through stop signs and red lights while the couple begs the driver to slow down and stop.
“I got four kids, I can’t be riding like this, you’ve got to let us out,” pleaded Swann, to which the driver replied, “I can’t let this guy go.”
Murray started to yell at the driver after he narrowly missed hitting a bicyclist, and then another car hit them. Eventually, the driver slowed down and allowed the couple to escape his car.
CNN reached out to Uber, who replied with the following statement:
“This driver’s behavior is deeply concerning and his access to the app has been removed. We have been in contact with the rider and stand ready to support law enforcement on their investigation.”
Murray and his wife say that they’re still sore after the two accidents.