A seemingly deranged woman terrorized an Uber driver on a residential street in Bellerose in what appears to be a violent carjacking, and she remains at large more than a week later.
Police from the 105th Precinct in Queens Village reported that the violent scene broke out on the night of Thursday, Oct. 10, as the 52-year-old man was picking up a passenger in front of 241-27- 86th Ave. at approximately 10:20 p.m.
An unidentified man got into the rear passenger seat of the Uber vehicle when the woman appeared in front of the dark-colored Toyota RAV4 SUV and proceeded to shout at the driver. When the victim tried to pull away, the suspect grabbed onto the hood and then opened the front passenger door and entered his vehicle, according to a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation.
The attack began immediately with the assailant punching the victim in his head and body multiple times. His attacker then bit him in the back and shoved the driver out of his SUV onto the street., police said Thursday. The assailant then jumped behind the wheel of the SUV and sped away from the crime scene, traveling westbound on 86th Avenue toward 239th Street when she lost control of the SUV and smashed into several cars before striking a tree.
The suspect emerged from the stolen vehicle and made a run for it in an unknown direction. The police said it was unclear what had happened to the male passenger, but he could not be seen in the video at the rear of the vehicle as the suspect drove away from the location. EMS responded to the crime scene and transported the injured Uber driver to Long Island Jewish Medical Center, where he was listed in stable condition and treated for a laceration to his lip and pain and swelling, police said.
Uber takes driver safety seriously. It has a team of former law enforcement professionals—including former FBI and Secret Service agents and former personnel from the Department of Defense—located globally. They are on call to work with police to respond to urgent needs and assist with investigations like the one at the 105th Precinct.
“What this driver endured is nothing short of terrifying,” an Uber spokesperson said on Friday. We’ve been in touch with him and have reached out to offer support. We have been in contact with [the] police and will continue to do whatever we can to assist their investigation.”
The NYPD released a video of the woman that shows her entering the vehicle and after the attack when she climbed in behind the wheel of the SUV and sped away. Police described her as having a medium complexion, approximately 5 feet tall and 180 pounds, and wearing a black sweatshirt and blue jeans.
The city’s Taxi & Limousine Commission is hoping someone recognizes the perpetrator in the video and alerts the authorities.
“We live in a city where TLC for-hire drivers safely get people to their destinations a million times a day,” TLC Commissioner David Do said. “They are legal immigrants, who do this with the hope that America is a safer, fairer place than the one they came from. They put their faith in our laws and goodwill. Anyone who has information about a crime against a driver should do the right thing and report it to NYPD immediately.”
Anyone with information regarding this robbery investigation is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org or on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
Through Oct. 13, the 105th Precinct has reported 104 robberies so far in 2024, 27 fewer than the 131 reported at the same point last year, a decline of 20.6%, according to the most recent CompStat report. Felony assaults are down slightly in the precinct, with 352 reported so far this year, four fewer than the 356 reported at the same point in 2023, a decrease of 1.1%, according to CompStat.
