A US woman, identified as Phoebe Copas, has been indicted on murder charges after allegedly shooting her Uber driver whom she suspected of kidnapping her, according to Texas law enforcement officials in the border city of El Paso.
Copas reportedly believed she was being abducted and transported into Mexico after observing traffic signs for Juarez, Mexico during her journey. Juarez is located directly across the border from El Paso, Texas.
The victim, Daniel Piedra Garcia, was mortally wounded when Copas, apparently fearing a kidnapping, discharged her handgun, striking Garcia in the head. The vehicle subsequently collided with roadside barriers and came to a stop.
Garcia, aged 52, was taken to the hospital in critical condition and remained on life support for several days before succumbing to his injuries.
Following the incident, Copas called 911 snapped a photo of the wounded driver, and texted the image to her boyfriend. Copas was visiting from Kentucky at the time of the incident.
However, the El Paso police, after conducting their preliminary investigation, concluded there was no evidence supporting Copas’s belief that she was being kidnapped. The police statement affirmed, “The investigation does not support that a kidnapping took place or that Piedra was deviating from Copas’ intended route.”
