The Asheville Police Department is investigating a sexual assault incident that occurred on July 24, 2017, involving a male posing as a driver for hire. The suspect is described as a Hispanic male in his 30s with a goatee. He drives a white newer model sedan and speaks broken English and Spanish. APD encourages anyone with any additional information on this incident to please contact the Asheville Police Department at 828-252-1110.
When using a ride-share program APD encourages riders to consider the following safety tips:
- Confirm you’re getting in the right vehicle – Ride share programs will provide you with detailed vehicle information. Double check that the car description, license plate number and driver’s name matches the vehicle picking you up. If the vehicle description/name do not match, cancel the ride and report the incident to the ride share service.
- Share your ride in real time – Ride share services offer a “send status” feature to send your friends and/or family a map of your route and expected time of arrival.
- Ride in the rear of the vehicle – Place some distance between you and your driver by not riding in the front seat of the vehicle.
- Don’t pay in cash – Ride share programs charge rides to the riders’ credit cards, so no cash is ever exchanged. If a ride share driver asks you to pay in cash, this is a red flag and we recommend you leaving the vehicle before starting the ride.