A Texas Uber driver’s fatal fare now facing a murder charge after succumbing to a gunshot wound to the head, allegedly from a passenger who believed she was being kidnapped.
(Video: KTSM)
On Friday, June 16, 48-year-old Phoebe Copas of Kentucky was said to be on her way to meet her boyfriend at the Speaking Rock Casino in El Paso, Texas. When the out-of-towner arranged for a rideshare vehicle to transport her there, signs along the way for Juarez, Mexico led her to think the worst of 52-year-old driver Daniel Piedra Garcia.
According to the El Paso Police Department, “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.”
Court documents elaborated that the suspect was accused of shooting the victim once in the back of the head and once in the wrist, and that prior to calling 911 she had taken a photo of the wounded driver and sent it to her boyfriend.
After being shot, Piedra Garcia’s vehicle collided with roadway barriers on US-54 near Loop 375, according to the court filings and Copas’ boyfriend met her at the scene.
When police arrived, they reportedly saw her “drop everything she was holding in her hands on the ground. Included with the items that fell to the ground, was a brown and silver handgun.”
Piedra Garcia was transported to a nearby hospital where he remained on life support until Wednesday. After KTSM spoke with a family member, the outlet learned they had removed him from life support after he was declared brain dead.
A statement from the El Paso Police explained as a result, “Phoebe Copas was originally booked for Aggravated Assault Causing Serious Bodily Injury. Daniel J. Piedra Garcia, unfortunately, succumbed to his injuries and Crimes Against Persons Detectives obtained a warrant for Copas with a charge of Murder with a bond of $1,500,000 signed by Judge Aun.”
To cover funeral and other expenses of the victim, said to be the breadwinner for his family, his widow Ana Piedra had set up a crowdfunding page that, at the time of this posting, had received more than 1,700 donations amounting to over $56,000 of a goal of $30,000.
She wrote, “On Friday June 16, 2023 my husband Daniel Piedra was working for Uber when his passenger shot him in the head. He is the sole provider for our family and was unable to work for a while because he hurt his knee at his last job and had to have surgery on April 18, 2023. He was very happy to finally be able to work and bring home income for this tragedy to happen, today we unfortunately had to disconnect my husband as the doctors did not give any chance that he would survive, after being disconnected he sadly passed, the money collected will be used to pay for hospital and funeral expenses and other difficulties that may arise. Thank you and [God] bless.”
As for Uber, according to NBC News the company had been in contact with the victim’s loved ones and issued their own statement that said, “We are horrified by the rider’s actions.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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