Uber driver carjacked at gunpoint; woman arrested
UPDATE: Danitra Coleman, 18, is charged with Aggravated Robbery, Carjacking and Possession of a Firearm. She is set to appear in court Wednesday morning.
Once in custody, Coleman reportedly admitted to carjacking the driver. It is unknown if the man involved has been arrested or charged.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — An Uber driver turned to a stranger for help after being carjacked at gunpoint early Sunday morning in a Whitehaven neighborhood.
LaShaundra Cox said she picked up a young man and woman just before 2 a.m. at an apartment complex at Ashwood and Knight Arnold in Parkway Village and drove them to Danberry Avenue, about seven miles away.
“I feel like I was set up. It was a setup. These kids wanted to take somebody’s car,” Cox said.
When she got to Danberry, Cox noticed a light-colored jeep circling the area. She said the female got out of her vehicle, and the male passenger pulled out a gun and told her to give him her car.
“And then I tried to grab for my phone,” Cox said. “He was like, no, leave that, which he was referring to my phone. I was like, okay, please don’t shoot me. Let me have my life. You can have the car.”
Cox got out of her 2020 Honda Accord and began running toward Boeingshire. She started knocking on doors and said a man being dropped off at a home by another Uber driver came to her rescue.
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“I started calling out for help,” Cox said. “He probably thought I was crazy, but when I got up to him, he saw that I was shaken up and crying. He was able to help me. He called the police, and he stood out there and told me to calm down. He was going to protect me.”
Cox, who also works as an advisor for Memphis Shelby Schools, said she is now without any means of transportation. She said the carjackers also got a gun she had hidden in her vehicle.
“I am thankful that I have wonderful supervisors who understand the situation and are there for me, but I feel like I can’t do anything.”
Cox hopes police can find her vehicle, but she won’t be driving for Uber again because she no longer feels safe in her city.
“I feel violated,” Cox said. “Why would you do that? That’s wrong. You’re calling Uber rides just to carjack people. You don’t feel some way about that? “
Cox doesn’t have car insurance right now, so she has started a GoFundMe to pay off her car and buy a new one if her vehicle is not recovered.
She said Uber had restricted the account used to book the trip. WREG was not able to reach a spokesperson for Uber on Monday.
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The stolen Honda Accord has a breast cancer and Delta Sigma Theta plate. The left side mirror cover is missing, and the right fender has a dent.
If you have seen the vehicle or know anything about the carjacking, call CrimeStoppers at (901)528-CASH.
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