Police in Friendswood, Texas, have charged 49-year-old Sameh Chami with aggravated kidnapping after a terrifying June 28 incident involving a 21-year-old female passenger. Chami, working as an Uber driver, picked the woman up outside Buckshot’s Saloon in Galveston for what should have been a routine 40-minute trip home.
The woman’s family became concerned when the Uber app marked her as dropped off at her home, yet she never arrived. Tracking her phone’s location, relatives discovered her several miles away in an empty parking lot — still inside Chami’s car. According to reports, Chami told the family she had “fallen asleep” but offered no reason for driving to an isolated spot. The victim, who admitted she had been drinking, told police she recalled Chami touching her inappropriately.
Friendswood police say surveillance video shows Chami leaving the driver’s seat and entering the back seat with the woman. Investigators allege he ended the ride on the app at her home address to conceal that he had driven elsewhere without letting her out. Chami was arrested on August 6 and charged with aggravated kidnapping.
Authorities confirmed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed a hold on Chami due to his immigration status, though they did not specify whether he is in the country illegally or on a temporary visa.
Uber has permanently banned Chami from its platform. “It’s sickening to hear any report of this nature happening on the Uber platform,” a company spokesperson said, pledging to assist law enforcement. The statement emphasized Uber’s safety measures, including in-app features and partnerships with safety experts, though critics argue such efforts have failed to stop an alarming trend.
Uber has faced repeated scrutiny for sexual assault cases involving drivers. Data revealed in court shows the company received over 400,000 reports of sexual assault and misconduct in the U.S. between 2017 and 2022 — averaging one every eight minutes. The danger reportedly spikes late at night and on weekends, the very times women often rely on rideshares to avoid unsafe situations.
Adding to the controversy, several states, including New York, have allowed illegal migrants to work for companies like Uber, Amazon, and DoorDash — a move critics say both depresses wages for American workers and increases risks by loosening vetting standards.
The Friendswood case is the latest in a troubling pattern of violent crimes involving rideshare drivers, reigniting debate over background check procedures, driver eligibility, and the risks posed when vulnerable passengers are alone late at night. For the victim in this case, quick action from her family likely prevented a far worse outcome — but it also raises urgent questions about how many other riders might not be as fortunate.
