‘Suspicious’ Uber Driver Turns Out to be Case of Mistaken Identity: Cheshire Police (UPDATED)

CHESHIRE, CT — In a Wednesday night update, Cheshire Police said the suspicious Uber driver who apparently tried to take a female middle school student to school turned out to be a case of mistaken identity.

The incident occurred in the neighborhood near Dodd Middle School on Wednesday morning as the girl was beginning her walk to school, she observed a newer-model white four-door sedan parked at the end of her driveway.

The man made contact with the student by calling her by her first name and saying he was her Uber driver. He asked several times if she wanted an Uber ride to school, until she finally went back into her home.

The student returned outside, accompanied with an adult from the home, but the vehicle had already left the area.

On Wednesday night, a woman contacted police after explaining the situation on social media as a misunderstanding / mistaken identity. She said that she was the intended Uber customer from the neighborhood near Dodd Middle School this morning, according to Lt. Jeffrey Sutherland.

Sutherland said the woman has a similar name to the young girl, which contributed to the misunderstanding / mistaken identity.

“Based on the information obtained from this woman, and the follow up information obtained from the Uber driver, who fully cooperated with this investigation, it was determined that the Uber driver was in the proper neighborhood, but GPS had put him on the wrong street,” Sutherland said in a press release.

When the driver saw a female exiting her house with a cellphone, he stopped at that house assuming it was his customer. He called her by the similar name and stated that he was her Uber driver, according to Sutherland.

“After she went back inside and he realized that he was at the wrong residence, he contacted the proper customer via cellular phone and continued to the correct residence,” Sutherland said. “He told his account of what had occurred to this customer. Whereas this incident might have turned out to be a misunderstanding / mistaken identity, it can be used as a teaching moment for everyone. If approached by a stranger, whether on foot or in a vehicle, get away from that person to an area of safety as quickly as possible and then immediately notify a parent, teacher, or other responsible and trusted adult of the incident.

“The Cheshire Police Department would like to reiterate that the young female who had originally reported this incident conducted herself in a manner which should be commended and modelled by others in the future.”

Image via Shutterstock

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