A woman is facing murder charges after she allegedly shot and killed an Uber driver who she mistakenly believed was taking her to Mexico.
Phoebe D Copas, 48, of Tompkinsville, Kentucky, was on a ride to a casino in El Paso, Texas when she became convinced that Daniel Piedra Garcia, 52, was trying to kidnap her, police say.
After seeing the road sign for the town of Juarez in Mexico, she fired a gunshot to the back of his head – causing him to swerve off the road and hit a highway barrier.
An affidavit states that Copas did not call emergency services in the aftermath, and instead sent a picture of the injured driver to her boyfriend, who then drove to the scene.
But El Paso police said she was not approaching any border crossing and was not in danger at the time of the incident.
A statement read: ‘At 2:19 P.M., Patrol Officers from the El Paso Police Department and Fire Medical crews responded to a shooting call on U.S. 54 South at exit 20.
The preliminary investigation revealed that Piedra was driving Copas from the Westside to a destination on El Paso’s Mission Valley.
At some point during the drive, Copas thought she was being taken into Mexico and shot Piedra.
‘The investigation does not support that a kidnapping took place or that Piedra was veering from Copas’ destination.’
Officers initially charged Copas with aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury, but her case was upgraded to murder after the driver was taken off life support on Wednesday.
Tributes have poured in from Daniel’s family and friends, with niece Didi Lopez describing her uncle to local media as a ‘hardworking man’ who was ‘never in a bad mood’.
She also claimed stereotypes about Mexico and the situation at the border could have contributed to his death, and told local CBS affiliate KDBC-TV: ‘They make assumptions, they see stuff maybe on the news, maybe on social media, and stuff that’s not necessarily true, and when they come here, they come without really knowing.
‘I miss him, and I wish this wouldn’t have happened to him.’
Daniel’s family have now more than doubled their $30,000 target on a GoFundMe set up in his memory, which they say will be used to pay for ‘hospital and funeral expenses and other difficulties that may arise’.
