Armed robbery suspect tries to use Uber as getaway car

By Trevor Mogg October 12, 2015

how to delete your uber account — Prathan Chorruangsak / Shutterstock

Uber drivers presumably pick up all kinds of passengers during a typical day, but an incident in Baltimore last week surely marks a first for the ride-hailing company.

According to ABC News, a suspected armed robber tried to use an Uber car as a getaway vehicle following an alleged crime. The incident took place last week in Parkville, about five miles north of downtown Baltimore.

Now, we all know Uber’s an ambitious company that’s always on the lookout for new ways to make money, but we should at this point make it absolutely clear – the incident was not part of a trial for a new service called UberGetaway.

In this particular case, the Uber driver apparently had absolutely no idea what was going on, though he may have cottoned on to the fact that this was no ordinary ride when a cop car’s flashing lights appeared in the rearview mirror.

So what exactly happened? Well, according to reports, a 23-year-old man by the name of Dashawn Terrell Cochran allegedly entered a Parkville store in the small hours and, after approaching the counter with a bottle of Tylenol cold medicine, pulled a gun on the clerk and demanded money.

The suspect fled from the store with an unknown amount of cash and then, with cops quickly on his tail, was spotted getting into a silver Lexus.

After pulling the car over, the man behind the wheel told cops he was an Uber driver, presumably adding that he was unaware of Cochran’s alleged misdeed.

Yes, it does all sound rather bizarre, and it’s not known whether Cochran booked the car or if he just saw it nearby and jumped in. Oddly, there was another passenger in the vehicle when the cops pulled it over, though both the passenger and the driver were later released by cops who were satisfied they had nothing to do with the alleged robbery. Cochran, however, was arrested and charged with armed robbery, ABC News reported.

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Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

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Along with announcing Uber Cash Monday, Uber shared a few more details about its plans to bring drone delivery to Uber Eats.
Uber unveiled the design for the drones at the Forbes 30 under 30 summit. The drones will have rotating wings with six rotors and will be able to take off and land vertically, Techcrunch reports.
While you might think the drones would be used for long-distance travel, instead they’ll likely be used for more local deliveries, at least for the time being. The drones are expected to have a maximum travel time of eight minutes, including takeoff and landing, and will have a range of 18 miles. For round-trip deliveries, the drones will likely travel 12 miles.
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In another scenario, the drones will be deployed from restaurants to parked Uber vehicles that will then be responsible for delivering the food that final mile to its destination.
In July, Uber was conducting tests of the delivery drone in San Diego. Those tests were done from a McDonald’s in the area and were done using an Air Robot AR200 octocopter with a custom-built box for holding the food.
In July, Uber talked about building its own drones for food delivery and said that they could eventually reach speeds of 70mph. It had hoped to have its commercial service set up by this summer, which clearly didn’t pan out.
Earlier this month Wing launched the first drone delivery in the United States. Wing, which is owned by Google, is delivering over-the-counter medication, snacks, and gifts to people in Christiansburg, Virginia. It is working in partnership with Walgreens, FedEx Express and Virginia-based retailer Sugar Magnolia on the project.
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