Arizona’s Family (3TV / CBS 5) reporter Mickaela Castillo says it started the way a lot of nights in Phoenix start: someone orders an Uber expecting a safe, boring trip from point A to point B.
Instead, Castillo reports, a couple says they wound up inside what they described as an “Uber ride from hell,” and parts of it were caught on video while they begged the driver to stop.
On the newscast, anchors Nicole Crites and Jared Dillingham set the tone right away, calling it a scary encounter that was “first caught on camera,” then tossing to Castillo after noting something that makes the whole story worse.
According to Dillingham’s setup, the passengers say the ride didn’t just end with them getting out. They say the driver sped off and kept driving that night to pick up more people.
That claim is what turns this from a frightening one-off into a bigger question about how quickly rideshare companies react when something clearly goes wrong.
Swerving, Screaming, And A Car That Wouldn’t Stop
Castillo reports that Yuki Momohara and her boyfriend called an Uber on Dec. 19, heading from Midtown Phoenix.
Momohara tells Castillo she was “definitely scared for my life,” and the video shown in the report backs up why she’d say that.
In the footage Castillo describes, the driver is swerving between lanes, cutting across traffic, and nearly hitting barriers on the highway while the passengers yell at him to stop.
You can hear the panic in the clip Castillo aired, with the passengers shouting variations of “Stop the car” and pleading over and over like they’re trying to talk someone down from doing something reckless.
Momohara tells Castillo the driving got alarming fast. She says he went from the far right lane all the way to the left to make an exit move, and she describes it like a sudden snap decision that almost ended in a crash.
Castillo also points out a moment that feels especially unreal: the video shows the driver running up onto the sidewalk near Seventh Street.
That’s not a minor drift. That’s the kind of thing people associate with impairment, distraction, or an emergency – something that doesn’t belong on a normal rideshare trip.
Momohara tells Castillo that, in the moment, she wasn’t calmly weighing possibilities. She was “freaking out” and asking the driver to stop because she didn’t know what was happening.
And that’s a key detail: fear isn’t just about the swerving. It’s about not knowing if the person controlling the car is having a medical crisis, intoxicated, or doing something intentional.
The Moment It Finally Stopped, And Then Got Worse
Castillo reports that eventually the car came to a stop.
Momohara’s boyfriend checks on the driver’s condition, according to Castillo, while Momohara gets out and calls 911.
That’s the point where most people would assume the danger is over. You’re out of the car. Emergency services are being contacted. The driver is being confronted.
But Castillo says the story didn’t end there.
Momohara tells Castillo the driver suddenly shifted into something more threatening. She claims the driver told her boyfriend, “If you don’t get out of my vehicle, I’m gonna hurt you.”
Then, according to Momohara’s account to Castillo, the driver started pressing the gas, and her boyfriend backed off and got out.
If that’s accurate, it’s the moment the incident crosses from “reckless driving” into something that sounds like intimidation. At minimum, it’s a driver refusing to cooperate when riders are clearly distressed, and that’s a serious safety failure all on its own.
Castillo notes the unsettling part: moments after Momohara called 911, the driver sped off.
So the immediate question becomes painfully simple. If riders are reporting terrifying driving and calling 911, how does the same driver still have time to accept another ride?
A Second Pickup Minutes Later Brings A New Account
Castillo reports that another passenger, Eva Carlson, was picked up minutes later by the same driver.
Carlson tells Castillo she and a friend were headed back to Tempe, expecting a normal drive home.
Instead, Carlson describes what sounds like the same pattern: splitting lanes, swerving, and driving in a way that made her feel trapped inside a moving hazard.
Carlson tells Castillo she looked at the speedometer and saw the driver going 100 miles per hour on the freeway.
She also says he nearly rear-ended the car in front of them – one that was going what she called an “adequate speed” for the highway.
Carlson’s quote to Castillo is blunt and familiar to anyone who’s had a scary ride with a stranger driving: “I had never been in a situation like that before. It was scary.”
That second account matters because it suggests the first couple wasn’t dealing with a weird misunderstanding or a single isolated lapse. It sounds like a driver who kept operating the same way even after riders objected.
And when two different groups describe the same behavior in the same night, it starts to look less like “bad luck” and more like a breakdown in the guardrails that are supposed to protect passengers.
What Was Happening With The Driver?
Castillo says it’s still unclear what was going on with the driver.
She reports that the passengers she spoke with believed he was possibly under the influence, but she also notes another possibility: a medical emergency.
That distinction is important, because the response should be different depending on what the truth is.
If it was a medical issue, it’s still dangerous, but it’s also a case where a person might need immediate intervention, not just punishment.
If it was impairment, then you’re dealing with a preventable risk—one that should trigger fast removal from the road before anyone else gets hurt.
Either way, Castillo’s reporting highlights the same scary bottom line: the passengers say they tried to get him to stop, and it didn’t work until the ride finally ended on its own terms.
And even then, the driver was still able to take another pickup.
Uber’s Response, And Why People Are Asking Tough Questions
Castillo says she reached out to Uber and got a response: Uber told her the driver was deactivated from the platform and that this type of behavior is unacceptable.
That’s the line you’d expect, and it’s the minimum response any rider would want to hear after watching footage like this.
But Castillo also says she asked Uber a sharper question: why wasn’t the driver suspended right after the first report and the 911 call?
In her report, Castillo notes Uber did not respond back to her on that specific question.
And that silence is where public trust starts to crack, because “we deactivated him” doesn’t answer what riders actually worry about in real time: what happens in the minutes between the first complaint and the next pickup.
Castillo also connects this local incident to a wider debate about rideshare safety.
She mentions that the New York Times recently published an investigation that raised concerns about Uber’s screening practices, including claims that some drivers with felony convictions were accepted if the crimes were more than seven years old.
Castillo’s point in bringing that up isn’t to say it explains this specific driver. It’s to show that, nationally, people are already questioning how these platforms decide who gets access to riders in the first place, and how they respond when something goes sideways.
Momohara, speaking to Castillo, sums up the dread in a way that’s hard to shake: it’s “sad” to think he could pick up somebody else and endanger them.
That fear makes sense. When you order a rideshare, you’re not just buying transportation. You’re trusting a stranger with your safety at highway speed.
And when video shows passengers begging to stop while the car keeps moving, that trust doesn’t just wobble – it takes a real hit.
If anything good can come from footage like this going viral, it’s pressure. Pressure on the company to explain the timeline, pressure to tighten rapid-response systems, and pressure to make sure a report isn’t just a customer service ticket while the next rider is stepping into the same backseat.
Gary’s love for adventure and preparedness stems from his background as a former Army medic. Having served in remote locations around the world, he knows the importance of being ready for any situation, whether in the wilderness or urban environments. Gary’s practical medical expertise blends with his passion for outdoor survival, making him an expert in both emergency medical care and rugged, off-the-grid living. He writes to equip readers with the skills needed to stay safe and resilient in any scenario.
