Tourist's Uber Allegedly Kills A Pedestrian In A Hit And Run Case In New Delhi, Police Ignorant

Booking an Uber is definitely a lot of hassle. Getting the location right while booking, giving directions to the drivers, the drivers taking forever to reach the location etc. But this story is nothing like anything that has been reported against the Taxi-calling app before.

This is the story of Karl Raymond Foster, whose cab driver got involved in a hit and run case near Delhi airport and his pleas were ignored by both Uber and the local police.

The Incident

A British citizen, Karl Raymond Foster, and his friend were on the way to Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi, on January 11. While on their way, the driver hit a person, who toppled over the car, shattering the windshield. The driver did not stop and kept on moving forward assuring his riders “It’s okay.”

The riders were both shook and Karl insisted on stopping the car. The driver did so, and Karl got down the vehicle to check on the person who was run over. He asked the driver to help the person, but the driver refused, once again telling him that “It’s okay”.

As Karl’s friend had a flight to catch, they rushed to the airport which was not more than 1000 meters away. At the airport, Karl informed the security about the issue, while the driver kept on denying the incident.

Karl believes the driver was easily going at 60 mph if not faster was a motorway. “He was barely awake. He bumped the car with security on the way to the police also,” said Karl.

They proceeded to the police station. “I was asked to write a statement of what happened. While doing so the driver was brought out and talked to the police and was trying to say sorry to me. I moved away from him as it was just making me more mad, scared and worried.”

According to Karl, the police only made him write a statement but no formal complaint was written down. The driver also demanded the fare of Rs 220 from him, which he refused to give. He said, ”he is not sure about the conversation between the police and the accused, but whatever he could understand from the English words, he thinks they were trying to bribe him against registering the case.”

Among all this, Karl wonders who took care of the person who was hit.

Uber’s reply

Karl reported the incident to Uber on January 13. “They promptly called me, took a statement. But then I have only been able to write posts and wait for their reply on Facebook. I have asked to be contacted via email. They have promised to call but they did not and now they ignore me if I try to contact them,” he said. The Logical Indian contacted Uber and their spokesperson said,

“Upon learning about the incident, we immediately removed the driver’s access to the app. We also informed the rider that we stand ready to assist the law enforcement authorities in their investigation in any way we can. As per our policy, a written response via email was shared with the account holder (rider) and Karl was informed about the same. We urge our riders to use the emergency button in such scenarios as this helps them in connecting with the local law enforcement authorities, who are best placed to take action in situations like this and file an FIR to ensure appropriate action. As always, we will work with law enforcement officials and provide required information to assist them in their ongoing investigation. Uber is committed to ensure safety of its riders and driver partners. Having said that, we strongly believe that safety is a shared responsibility where Uber, riders, driver partners and the law enforcement, all have a role to play.”

The driver has been suspended from the app but has not been arrested yet.

Police Says

When The Logical Indian contacted Kapashera Police Station they said they don’t have any case filed in the police station regarding the issue. When we urged them to check their records they refused to do so.

The Logical Indian Take

It is deeply saddening to see Uber, an international app ignoring something so serious as hit and run cases. It is also disheartening that a person was dead and neither the police nor the driver took any responsibility. A British citizen is fighting for the justice, while no one is listening to him. Karl reached out to The Logical Indian saying he is deeply disturbed and wants to ensure that the person who died get justice. It has been a month and the identity of the victim is still not known. The police’s lackadaisical attitude also raises some serious questions. We request Uber to initiate an enquiry on their own and hope that they find the identity of the victim as justice needs to be served.