Report: Quinnipiac Female Student Fights Off Attempted Sexual Assault in Presumed Uber Taxi (Updated)

A Quinnipiac female student fought off an attempted sexual assault by two men in what she believed to be an Uber taxi last month in New Haven, according to the Quinnipiac Chronicle.

The Chronicle reports that the student was picked up near Yorkside Pizza next to Toad’s Place around 1 a.m. on March 22 and the driver later picked up two other males on Whalley Avenue.

Once they arrived at the Quinnipiac student’s address, the driver asked her about her relationship status and the men in the back seat attempted to sexually assault her, according to the Chronicle. She was able to fight back and exit the vehicle, while sustaining minor injuries.

Uber is a taxi service that connects riders to drivers through apps. The company’s description on its website states:

Uber is evolving the way the world moves. By seamlessly connecting riders to drivers through our apps, we make cities more accessible, opening up more possibilities for riders and more business for drivers. From our founding in 2009 to our launches in hundreds of cities today, Uber’s rapidly expanding global presence continues to bring people and their cities closer.

Following the March 22 incident, Quinnipiac Chief of Public Safety David Barger emailed the entire student body, alerting students to several incidents “in which students have gotten into vehicles in the greater New Haven area, which they believed to be Uber cars when in fact, they were not.”

The university has issued a campus-wide ban on Uber but some students are still using the service, according to the Chronicle.

Update:

Matt Wing, spokesperson for Uber, sent Patch.com the following statement:

“Uber has received no reports from riders about this incident and has not been contacted by law enforcement.”

Read the full report at the Quinnipiac Chronicle here.