A Kentucky woman is facing murder charges in Texas after allegedly shooting her Uber driver who she erroneously thought was kidnapping her and taking her to Mexico, police said.
Phoebe Copas, 48, has been charged with murder following the death of 52-year-old Daniel Piedra Garcia, an Uber driver who picked her up on June 16 as she was visiting El Paso to see her boyfriend, The Associated Press reported. After getting into Garcia’s car at approximately 2:00 p.m., Copas reportedly began to panic when she saw signs for Juarez, Mexico, leading her to pull out a handgun to shoot Garcia, according to the El Paso Times.
“What we were told originally was that the lady saw the sign on the freeway that said it was Mexico,” Garcia’s niece Didi Lopez told the outlet. “So, she panicked and thought that my uncle was kidnapping her. And so her instinct was to shoot him and she shot him multiple times in the head.” (RELATED: Uber Driver Killed By Shot To The Head During Attempted Robbery)
Phoebe Copas told police she shot the driver because she believed she was being taken to Mexico, rather than the requested destination. \https://t.co/fyhZyZU28I
— KFOX14 News (@KFOX14) June 21, 2023
After the alleged shooting, the vehicle crashed into roadway barriers, rolling to a stop on the freeway. Copas then reportedly called 9-1-1, but not before taking a picture of the victim and sending it via text message to her boyfriend, Lopez told the outlet, citing the police affidavit.
First responders took Copas into custody and transported Garcia to a local hospital where he remained on life support until June 21, when doctors informed his family he would never recover from his injuries.
“Originally, [the doctors] told us that he was brain dead due to where the bullet that went in him destroyed his brain,” Lopez told the El Paso Times. “[Wednesday], they told us that his brain was destroyed, but that there was a percentage of his brain that was still functioning, but that was going to be his status forever. He would need to be on life support forever. There was nothing that they could do. There was nothing.”
Garcia was remembered by his family as a “funny, caring and hardworking man” who was “never in a bad mood.”
“We want justice,” Lopez said. “It wasn’t fair that that’s how the situation played out. I wish she would’ve spoken up, asked questions, not acted on impulse and make a reckless decision because not only did she ruin our lives, but she ruined her life, too. We just want justice for him. That’s all we’re asking.”
Copas, who had initially been charged with aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury in connection with the shooting, had her charges upgraded to murder following Garcia’s death and a bond set at $1.5 million.