Woman anxious to catch plane allegedly steals Uber driver's car, then charges $120 to her credit card at the airport

A woman anxious to catch a plane out of Texas allegedly stole an Uber driver's car, then allegedly used the driver's credit card to purchase several items once she arrived at the airport.

At around 12:30 a.m. last Sunday, an Uber driver in a 2016 Chevrolet Cruz picked up 27-year-old Neusha Afkami from a hotel. Afkami needed to get to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to catch a flight back to Orange County, California, where she lives.

Along the way, Afkami began arguing with the Uber driver because the drive to the airport seemed to be taking too long. With her phone in her hand, the driver eventually pulled onto East Cesar Chavez Street, heading toward Airport Boulevard. At that point, Afkami allegedly grabbed the phone out of the driver's hand and tossed it out the window.

The driver stopped the car to retrieve the phone, but as she did so, Afkami reportedly snuck into the driver's seat and took off, abandoning the driver by the side of East Cesar Chavez, which Law&Crime described as "a major thoroughfare" in Austin.

The driver immediately called police, who then relayed the allegations against Afkami to airport security. Officers managed to locate Afkami at the airport before she could board her flight.

Afkami reportedly explained to police that she had always intended to return the vehicle to the driver — sort of. "I need to get to the airport, so I'm going to take your car and drop it off at Southwest Airlines," she allegedly yelled to the driver as she left her by the side of the road.

Officers did find the car near the terminal.

Officers also reportedly found the Uber driver's wallet in Afkami's possession, as well as several items such as candy and shot glasses that Afkami allegedly purchased with the driver's credit card. In all, the purchases totaled about $120.

Woman who hijacked Uber driver's car has 11 previous traffic violations | FOX 7 Austinwww.youtube.com

Afkami was arrested and charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and credit or debit card abuse. She was released on $10,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court again on January 9.

She has reportedly retained counsel, but her attorney did not respond to Law&Crime's request for comment.

Afkami also appears to have several traffic-related violations on her record in Orange County, California. FOX 7 Austin reported that between 2015 and 2021, she had been cited 11 times, and 10 of those citations resulted in convictions.

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