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Uber driver charged with kidnapping after rider jumps from moving car, police say

By Crystal Bonvillian, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
By Crystal Bonvillian, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A Florida Uber driver allegedly refused to let her fare out of the car Wednesday, forcing the female passenger to jump from the window of the moving vehicle, police said.

Destiny Racquel Green, 30, is charged with kidnapping to commit or facilitate a felony and false imprisonment. Leon County Jail records showed Green remained in jail Friday afternoon.

Tallahassee police officers were called early Wednesday morning to a Walgreens parking lot following a 911 call in which the victim -- who identified herself on social media as Brooke Adkins, 19, a college student from St. Petersburg -- could be heard screaming for help in the background, according to WTXL in Midway. When the officers arrived, they found Adkins with torn jeans, soaked through with blood, and scrapes on her hands.

Adkins told officers she had been hanging out with friends at a Tallahassee club when she called for an Uber to take her home, the news station reported. She showed officers the app on her cellphone, which showed Green as the driver assigned to her.

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Police officials said that, on the way to Adkins' home, Adkins asked Green to instead drop her off at The Edge, an apartment complex near Florida State University. Things started getting weird at that point, Adkins said in Twitter posts.

"I was already at my destination and she asked me if I could ride around more with her," Adkins wrote. "I told her she could take me around the block but to keep the meter on (just in case), and after that she would not let me get out of the car."

Adkins, who was seated in the back seat of the vehicle, wrote that the child lock was on the doors of Green's car.

As the two women drove around, Green was pulled over near Florida State University by a state trooper. WTXL reported that, during the stop, Green asked Adkins to put her hands on the center console and hold it down.

Adkins found the request odd, but did as Green asked.

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The Tampa Bay Times reported that Green told her passenger she was taking her to the hospital. Adkins told her she did not need to go to a hospital, but Green refused to stop.

"Adkins said she asked Green to let her out of the vehicle at almost every stoplight, and Green continuously said 'no' and nothing else," police officials said, according to the Times.

Adkins called 911.

About 25 minutes after Green passed Adkins' drop-off spot, Adkins made her move. She rolled down the window, holding the button down so Green couldn't roll it back up, and jumped, police said.

Investigators caught up with Green at her home later that day, WTXL reported. Before they could say anything, Green told them she'd quit working for Uber because of "the girl" to whom she had given a ride, the news station said.

Green said Adkins had wanted to go to the hospital, but did not say why, police said. She told them Adkins jumped from the car on the way to Capital Regional Medical Center, WTXL reported.

Investigators wrote in police reports that Green made several comments that were non sequiturs and seemed paranoid during questioning, the news station said.

An Uber spokesperson told BuzzFeed News that what Adkins reported to police is "troubling."

"We have removed the driver from the app and stand ready to support the police investigation," the spokesperson said.

Adkins took to social media Wednesday to warn other young women of the dangers surrounding them. The initial tweet, which included photos of her torn jeans and battered legs, has since been retweeted more than 91,000 times.

"Tonight, I realized that being kidnapped from an Uber driver is 100 (percent) real," Adkins wrote. "I'm so thankful that I got out OK, but jumping out a moving car window and running for help has to be the scariest thing I've ever gone thru (sic)."

She wrote that she wanted girls to be aware and to always remain safe.

"Kidnapping has been happening more recently than ever and I want to raise awareness that everyone just needs to be safe and aware of your surroundings, and also who you are with," Adkins wrote.

Cox Media Group

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