Florida Uber driver recalls alleged carjacking: 'I just thank God that I'm OK'
Uber driver recalls alleged carjacking
A 27-year-old Casselberry, Florida woman, who asked not to be named, said she may never drive for Uber again after a scary incident Sunday night. The woman said she picked two people up near Buckingham Drive in Oviedo who asked to stop at the Legends Apartments near Courtney Springs Circle in Winter Springs, which is where things took a turn.
SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. - A 27-year-old Casselberry, Florida woman, who asked not to be named, said she may never drive for Uber again after a scary incident Sunday night.
"I just thank God that I'm OK," the woman said. "What happened to me is things that I've seen online before, but never in a million years I would think that it would happen to me."
The woman said she picked two people up near Buckingham Drive in Oviedo who asked to stop at the Legends Apartments near Courtney Springs Circle in Winter Springs, which is where things took a turn.
One of the passengers, 19-year-old Kyron Peterson, got out of the car to get something out of an apartment. When he came back, the woman said he began threatening the other passenger with his hands in his pants.
RELATED: Uber driver carjacked during ride in Winter Springs, police say
"I couldn't determine if whether or not Kyron actually had a weapon on him, but based off of the language that he was using, I assume that he had a weapon on his person," the woman said.
That's when the victim said she told them both she'd have to end the ride. The other passenger grabbed his belongings and left the scene, but the woman says Peterson wouldn't budge.
"In this moment, I made the decision to exit my vehicle and run and call 911," the woman recalled. "I knew that if something were to happen, I could not defend myself. I do not own a firearm. I had nothing, nothing that would protect me, so I knew that I had to get out of the situation."
Police said Peterson stole the woman's car before eventually crashing it near County Road 419 and Long Acres Lane in Oviedo. He hid in the nearby woods until officers caught him.
"There was just no reason to steal a vehicle and go crash it. It doesn't make any sense at all," the woman said.
Peterson appeared in court on Monday afternoon. He's facing several charges and a $52,000 bond. If released, he must wear a GPS monitor and have no contact with the victim.