- South-African singer/ songwriter Nikki Williams is the latest passenger to come forward saying that she was sexually assaulted by her Uber driver
- ‘Just reported my Uber driver for sexual Harrassment. He tried to grab & kiss on me in my own driveway. Fought him off and ran inside. #WTF,’ Williams, 26, tweeted this morning
- Williams’ claim comes at a poor time for Uber who is fighting off sexual assault allegations in Boston and India earlier this month
South-African singer/ songwriter Nikki Williams is the latest passenger to come forward saying that she was sexually assaulted by her Uber driver while getting a ride to her home in L.A.
‘Just reported my Uber driver for sexual Harrassment. He tried to grab & kiss on me in my own driveway. Fought him off and ran inside. #WTF,’ Williams, 26, tweeted early this morning following the incident.
Uber issued an apology to Williams and told her they deactivated the driver and will do their best to prevent future incidents from occurring.
Reported the incident: South-African singer/ songwriter Nikki Williams is the latest passenger to come forward saying that she was sexually assaulted by her Uber driver while getting a ride to her home in L.A.
Tweeted the incident: ‘Just reported my Uber driver for sexual Harrassment. He tried to grab & kiss on me in my own driveway. Fought him off and ran inside. #WTF,’ Williams, 26, tweeted early this morning
‘Uber has zero tolerance for this behavior, and we apologize to Ms. Williams for this terrible experience. We immediately deactivated the driver, and have begun an investigation,’ Kaitlin Durkosh, a spokesperson for Uber, told Mashable.
Nikki Williams has been living in the United States ever since she was 16-years-old when her family left their town in South Africa, ravaged by post-apartheid crime, to move to Nashville, says the singer’s Facebook Page.
Williams made the move to Los Angeles when she was 21, and shortly after signed with Breyon Prescott of Chameleon Entertainment.
The young singer boasts collaborations with a string of Grammy-winning hitmakers including Sandy Vee, Dallas Austin, and Rodney Jerkins.
Her songwriting credits include Lauren Alaina’s ‘Like My Mother Does’, Williams’ ‘Fly Away’ from the Country Strong and Demi Lovato’s ‘Heart Attack’
Her debut single ‘Kill, F**k, Marry.’ which was produced by Stargate and co-written by Sia Furler,was released on November 19, 2012.
Her second single ‘Glowing’ was released on 4 December 2012 and her third single ‘Thank God It’s Friday’ was released on November 19, 2013.
Williams is currently performing on the road, and hopefully she won’t encounter any more shady characters .
The District Attorneys of Los Angeles and San Francisco filed a lawsuit against Uber for ‘flagrant and unlawful business practices,’ which include not issuing proper background checks for drivers in response to several criminal acts reported by passengers.
Williams’ claim comes at a poor time for Uber who is fighting off a string of sexual assault allegations in Boston and India earlier this month.
A Massachusetts Uber driver is accused of sexually assaulting a woman who had summoned the ride-sharing service.
Authorities say 46-year-old Alejandro Done was arraigned on Wednesday in Cambridge District Court.
The Boston man pleaded not guilty to charges including rape and kidnapping.
Investigators say Done picked up the woman in Boston on December 6. She had summoned an Uber driver to take her to her Cambridge home.
Uber customers use a smartphone application to arrange and pay for rides with nearby drivers.
The driver allegedly told the woman that he would need a cash payment, so he took her to an ATM.
Authorities say he then drove her to a secluded location and sexually assaulted her.
The Wicked Local reports that Done drove to a location that she was not familiar with then her pulled over in a secluded area and jumped in the backseat where she was sitting.
He allegedly hit her and strangled her and locked the car doors so that she could not escape and covered her mouth so she could not scream. He then allegedly sexually assaulted the woman.
Uber says it’s working closely with law enforcement to assist in the investigation.
‘This alleged predator took advantage of a young woman who trusted that he was who he portrayed himself to be and exploited her vulnerability once he had her in his car,’ said District Attorney Marian Ryan.
‘Every day people are engaging car services for their transportation needs, and placing their trust in them for their personal safety and security.
While these services are a convenience, and often a necessity of modern urban living, we urge everyone to take precautions to ensure they are as safe as possible,’ said Ryan.
In hauntingly similar case’s, three different women told Boston police that they were sexually assaulted over the weekend after getting into to cars they believed they ordered via ride sharing apps such as Uber and Lyft.
At least two of three women who police said were indecently assaulted Sunday while using ride-sharing services in Boston had ordered vehicles through Uber, according to authorities.
Police said on Monday night that all three incidents occurred early Sunday morning between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. in Dorchester, the Allston-Brighton area, and an unspecified location between Faneuil Hall and Dorchester.
The Boston Globe reports that the first incident occurred just before 1 a.m.last Sunday when a woman was picked up at Dorchester Avenue and Columbia Road and a driver allegedly proceeded to touch her inappropriately.
She says she later got a text from her ride-share service saying her actual driver had arrived.
She ordered the car to stop and she ran out but police were not able to find the car she described being assaulted in.
At around 2:30 a.m. a second incident occurred when a woman called for a car to pick her up at 1030 commonwealth Avenue and take her home.
She got into a vehicle and was ‘assaulted by an individual she believed to be employed by a rideshare service,’ police said.
She was able to resist the driver’s advances and get out of the car.
In a third incident in the same night a woman arranged for a ride from app from Faneuil Hall to Dorchester and ‘fell asleep [during the trip] and woke to the driver indecently assaulting her,’ police said.
Police have not yet commented on whether or not the cases are connected.
Taylor Bennett, a spokesperson for the ride-sharing service Uber, sent a statement to CBS saying, ‘no one should hail or get into any vehicle on the street that is not a clearly identifiable pre-arranged transportation provider or licensed taxi. There are strong reasons why doing so is unsafe, and therefore illegal, in the city of Boston.’
Meghan Joyce, who works as the general manager for Uber Boston, said the service has measures in place to guard against such incidents.
‘Our technology has brought an unprecedented degree of accountability and transparency to the transportation industry — with driver and vehicle information provided in-app, detailed email receipts sent after each ride, a 24/7 feedback loop, and the ability to share your journey in real time,’ the statement said.
Indian police also arrested an Uber taxi driver late on Sunday December 7 over the alleged rape of a 25-year-old passenger, an officer said, with the incident a blow to the company’s safety-conscious image.
Police said they tracked down the driver who had abandoned the taxi and fled to his native Uttar Pradesh state after attacking the woman on December 5 in a secluded part of the Indian capital.
Another officer, Delhi special commissioner Deepak Mishra, criticised Uber over the attack, saying early investigations showed GPS had not been installed in the taxi and mandatory police background checks were not conducted on the driver.
‘Our initial investigations have revealed the shortcomings of the private cab company which didn’t have GPS installed in its cabs and the staff wasn’t verified,’ he told AFP.
The incident comes as US-based Uber, which emphasises safety and high-end technology, is making inroads in the Indian market including by appealing to young urban professionals.
![Third Incident: The same night a woman arranged for a ride from app from Faneuil Hall to Dorchester and 'fell asleep [during the trip] and woke to the driver indecently assaulting her,' police said](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/12/18/2421CC3F00000578-2878497-image-a-5_1418868970613.jpg)
Third Incident: The same night a woman arranged for a ride from app from Faneuil Hall to Dorchester and ‘fell asleep [during the trip] and woke to the driver indecently assaulting her,’ police said
