After being dropped off on the side of a highway in Denver, Colorado, by a rideshare driver when she got sick in his car, a woman was struck by two vehicles and killed.
Experts discuss potential liability of rideshare driver after woman dropped off on side of I-25, then killed in hit-and-run: 'something that a normal human being just doesn't do' https://t.co/KqYp9uqM7A pic.twitter.com/1lKuBciYTi
— Olivia Young (@OliviaYoungTV) January 4, 2023
Just after midnight on New Year’s Day, a female passenger was in a rideshare vehicle on the I-25 highway in Colorado near the 470 interchanges when she became ill.
According to investigators, the unidentified woman was riding in the vehicle with friends when she got sick in the car. The driver then pulled over on the side of I-25, and the woman’s friends terminated the ride fare via the rideshare app. The driver then left the group on the side of the busy interstate highway.
The woman then reportedly walked into the highway and was sideswiped by a truck, which caused her to fall to the ground, where she was struck by another car.
The driver of the truck did not stop after hitting her, but the driver of the car did.
Adam Wooley, 33, of Frederick, the driver of the pickup truck, was arrested by Thornton Police on Monday after he turned himself in. Wooley has been charged with one count of hit-and-run involving a death.
Speaking with KUSA-TV, a witness who was driving behind the truck that hit the woman first discussed the incident.
“I just couldn’t believe it,” said the woman, who identified herself only as Roxy. “The truck in front of me swerved, but when he swerved a little bit, it still hit her, and she kind of, she just flew up.”
The rideshare driver has not been charged criminally, though attorney Jonathan Douglas told KCNC-TV that he could potentially face civil charges for his actions.
“It appears that this woman was left on the side of the road, and not just the road, I-25. That’s pretty shocking,” Douglas said.
According to Thornton Police, the rideshare driver has cooperated fully with the investigation thus far.
In a comment to CBS News, Uber driver Michael McManus condemned the driver’s actions.
“Whether or not this is criminal by this driver, it’s just something that a normal human being just doesn’t do,” he said.
“There may be more to it than we know, but my experience says we gotta care, we have somebody’s life in our hands,” McManus continued.
He also pointed out that the driver had other options besides leaving the woman on the side of the highway, such as refusing the ride in the first place if the passenger appeared to be intoxicated, charging her a fee for cleaning his car, or even just waiting until after he could exit the highway to a safer road before dropping her off.
“Uber tells you if you feel unsafe you can drop the passenger off, but I don’t believe they tell you you can do so on the side of a busy interstate,” McManus said.
