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A Cape Town Uber driver has been arrested after a 28-year-old woman sustained injuries when he tried to rob and kidnap her on a trip home.

The woman, who does not wish to be identified, said the incident happened on the evening of May 26 after working the late shift as a waitress at a restaurant in Blouberg.

The traumatised woman is now demanding compensation from the e-hailing company to cover the damages caused, IOL reports.

It was around 9:30PM when she requested an Uber to go home, she said, noting how she even made sure the details on her phone matched with the driver who came to pick her up, providing the security four digit pin so that the driver could begin the trip.

Image: Uber

But the Uber driver had other plans:

“He drove and passed my house and as I was about to tell him that he had passed my stop, he called out my name and pulled out a gun and told me not to move or he will shoot me.”

She recounted that the driver demanded money, and when she said she had none, he allegedly seized her phone and drove to a secluded, dark road along the beach.

“I had my house keys with my knuckle dusters shaped like a cat, I don’t think he knew it was a weapon, we had driven quite far at this point. He told me to give him my house keys and put my hands out so he could cable tie them.

Her major concern was that the man knew where she lived, where her three-year-old daughter and her 60-year-old mother-in-law were alone and defenseless.

“I thought about what would happen to them if he did something to me and then went back to my house,” she said.

She had to think quickly at that moment and refused to hand over her house keys, rather making a daring move by jumping out of the car while it was still in motion. This was followed by a fight, during which the driver hit her with a gun while she used her knuckle dusters to defend herself.

“I continued to hit him with my knuckle dusters and kicked him. After that, I opened my door and stuck my foot out to see how fast the car was going and then I quickly jumped out,” she said.

She said she landed on the pavement, rolled into the bushes, and ran quickly until she reached the road. There, she spent at least an hour trying to find a car to take her to the hospital.

“I was bleeding and confused, there was blood coming from everywhere. I took my work shirt off and held it against my head just in case the bleeding was bad. Eventually a bus stopped and I asked the man to take me to hospital,” she explained.

The 32-year-old  Uber driver was arrested within two days of the horrid ordeal and she was able to recover her engagement ring, “But there’s been a mass of financial loss I endured due to this incident,” she explained.

“I had to lose days at work because working at a restaurant is a no-work no-pay rule. I also had to take less hours because I now fear travelling at night.

“I also have bills to settle for my daughter’s medical condition and I’m behind payment because of this incident, it has drained me financially,” she said.

She has been trying to hold Uber accountable and help pay her medical aid bills, but it has been a fight and her medical bills are still yet to be paid.

[source:iol]