A woman from Kentucky has been arrested after she allegedly shot her Uber driver, thinking he was kidnapping her.
Phoebe Copas, 48, was in an Uber on June 16 in El Paso, Texas when she started to become suspicious of her driver. Daniel Piedra Garcia, 52, was taking her along US Route 54 on her way to her destination, which was Mission Valley, according to what the El Paso Police Department said in their statement.
Copas was reportedly visiting her boyfriend in Texas, but during the ride she started to get paranoid when they kept passing signs that said “Juarez, Mexico” on them. This isn’t out of the way of El Paso at all, might we add, because the city lies on the border of Mexico right across the river from Juarez. She was on the right track for her destination — but started to believe she wasn’t due to the unfamiliar signage — and that’s when things took a horrific turn.
Believing that Garcia was going to kidnap her and take her across the borders into Mexico, she allegedly grabbed a handgun from her purse and shot the driver in the head. Yes, while he was driving!! The car swerved and crashed into barriers before it finally stopped in the middle of the freeway. The PD confirmed in an affidavit that the area where the car crashed was “not in close proximity of a bridge, port of entry or other area with immediate access to travel into Mexico.” They said in their statement:
“At some point during the drive, Copas thought she was being taken into Mexico and shot Piedra. The investigation does not support that a kidnapping took place or that Piedra was veering from Copas’ destination.”
So, so awful…
Even worse, Copas called 911, she allegedly took a photo of Garcia and texted it to her boyfriend. When police finally arrived they arrested her while initially charging her with aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury. The sad part is, though, Garcia didn’t die instantly, and succumbed to his injuries DAYS later in the hospital. After this, police are determined to get her charged with murder. According to The Associated Press, she remains jailed and has a $1.5 million bond.
Garcia’s niece, Didi Lopez, spoke to the El Paso Times about her uncle’s tragic passing, saying:
“He was a hardworking man and really funny. He was never in a bad mood. He was always the one that, if he saw you in a bad mood, he’d come over and try to lift you up … I wish she would’ve spoken up, asked questions, not acted on impulse and make a reckless decision, because not only did she ruin our lives, but she ruined her life, too. We just want justice for him. That’s all we’re asking.”
The family has set up a GoFundMe to cover medical and living expenses, due to the fact Garcia was their sole provider who had only recently started working again after an injury from a previous job. If you’d like to donate, you can click HERE.
Such an awful situation. Our hearts go out to Daniel’s family and loved ones. May he rest in peace.
[Image via KVIA ABC-7/YouTube/MEGA/WENN/GoFundMe]
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