Three weeks into his new job as an Uber driver in El Paso, Daniel Piedra was shot in the head multiple times after police said his passenger – who had seen a traffic sign that said “Juarez, Mexico” – wrongly believed she was being kidnapped and driven to another country.
Piedra, 52, had been on life support at a Texas hospital since the June 16 shooting. His family decided to switch off the machines last Wednesday, according to The Washington Post.
Phoebe Copas, 48, of Tompkinsville, Kentucky, was charged with murder. She was arrested on June 16 and accused of aggravated assault, but the charge changed after Piedra’s death.
On June 16, Copas booked an Uber ride to a casino, where she had planned to meet her boyfriend after he got off work.
Police said Piedra picked Copas up around 2pm in his grey Nissan Maxima. As he drove, police explained, Copas, who was in the back seat, saw a sign referring to the Mexican city of Juarez, which is about seven miles across the border from El Paso.
The sign left the passenger worried she was being kidnapped, investigators wrote. Copas then took a “silver and brown handgun” from her purse and repeatedly shot the driver, police said.
The vehicle hit barriers before coming to a stop on the highway.
Court documents allege she took photos of Piedras after the shooting and texted them to her boyfriend, and only then called 911.
When authorities arrived around 2.20pm, they found Copas’ boyfriend helping her out of the crushed Nissan.
Investigators said Piedra never deviated from the assigned route.
Uber did not respond to a request for comment.