“He took my soul away”: Armed robber turned Uber driver abused drunk Florida woman on her way home, now she filed massive lawsuit
Florida – A woman from Florida is suing Uber because she says the business didn’t do an adequate job of hiring and supervising its drivers, which led to her being se*ually assaulted on what was supposed to be a short ride on her 21st birthday.
The complaint is about an incident in Florida in December 2021 that included a driver who, according to court documents, had a long and extensive criminal past before being allowed to work on the platform.
The woman, identified in legal filings as Jane Doe, says she requested an Uber ride from a night out with her friends to her hotel. The trip should have only taken a few minutes. But records reveal that the ride lasted for hours. According to the lawsuit, the driver, Anthony Oliveras-Rivera, assaulted her during that time.
The complaint and deposition testimony say that Doe had been drinking a lot and lost track of her friends outside a nightclub in Tampa. Another woman noticed her condition and ordered the Uber on her behalf. That night, Oliveras-Rivera picked her up late and drove her far outside the city at first. He took her back to the hotel later since she couldn’t get into her house without her keys.
When they got to the hotel, a security guard was asked to help because Oliveras-Rivera said a passenger had passed out in his back seat. The guard later told police that Doe’s clothing was disheveled and that she appeared incoherent. Doe went to the doctor the next day and had a se*ual assault forensic exam. Later, investigators found that the DNA they got during the exam matched Oliveras-Rivera. Police records say that he admitted to having se* with her.
Oliveras-Rivera eventually pleaded guilty to three counts of se*ual battery and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Despite the seriousness of the allegations, the lawsuit claims he remained active as an Uber driver for more than a month after the incident.
The civil case against Uber focuses heavily on Oliveras-Rivera’s background. Court records show he had eight prior felony convictions before being approved as a driver, including burglary and robbery offenses involving female victims. One conviction stemmed from multiple armed home invasions in New York, where authorities said he used a machine gun. His criminal history also included long prison sentences and numerous driving violations.
The lawsuit argues that Uber’s screening process failed to identify or properly weigh this history. A background check conducted by a third-party service cleared Oliveras-Rivera under standards that allow drivers with convictions older than seven years in many states, including Florida. At the time, his most recent conviction dated back to 2013.
Doe says the consequences of that decision have been life-altering. In a deposition, she described the assault as devastating, saying it felt as though something fundamental had been taken from her.
“I felt like he took my soul away,” Ms. Doe said in a deposition, New York Times reported. “I’m trying my hardest just to survive this,” she added.
The lawsuit alleges Uber’s negligence in hiring and supervision directly enabled the attack and seeks to hold the company accountable for allowing a driver with such a record to transport passengers.
