01/07/2026
Excuse me but UBER aka UBER EATS aka DRIVE WITH UBER we have a serious issue.
I’m a mother in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and I need to share what happened to me and my child so everyone knows how unsafe this can be.
My child is a special needs student on an IEP, which should have qualified him for a school bus. We live just down the street from his elementary school, but the street is too busy for him to walk safely. Because of his needs, he would have been the last kid picked up and the first dropped off, yet the school still refused to provide him transportation. For months, I spent my own money on Ubers to get him to and from school.
One day, I was supposed to let my daughter pick him, but by the grace of God, I ended up going myself. Our car had previously been totaled by a drunk driver while my daughter was driving, leaving us without transportation, which made Uber our only option. My husband worked on the road, so our other vehicle was not available, and we had to do what we had to do, which meant relying on Uber.
The Uber driver picked me up, and during the ride, I noticed a buzzing noise. He was talking about backdooring Uber and starting his own business. I sat in the back seat on the passenger side. When he picked up my son, he sat in the back on the driver side. He kept looking forward in the passenger seat like he had seen something he wanted. But kids are nosey, so I paid it no mind. He took this ride knowing he was going to an elementary school.
We get home, and the driver kept talking, small talk about the town and about putting my son in a football league. My son got out, but the driver called me back to the window. I didn’t really want to, but I went.
That’s when I saw it. On the front passenger seat, there was a bullet toy box that had been opened. The plastic packaging inside the box had been removed. There was also a change bag, a money bag, and the toy box all sitting together. I have no idea why he had a cash bag or change bag because we pay for Uber with a card, never cash. That’s when I realized he had been using the toy during the ride. My child had seen it and later even tried to look up what a bullet was out of curiosity. Meanwhile, the driver acted completely normal, talking to me like nothing was wrong.
I work in media and with people’s content, so my phone is set up that way to easily record. I recorded everything, the box, the packaging, the change bag, the money bag, and the driver acting normal while my child was in the car.
This was unsafe, disturbing, and completely unacceptable. My child saw something inappropriate. No parent should ever have to deal with this. I reported it. Uber has ignored me, stayed silent, and the driver has still not been removed. The Fort Smith police didn’t do anything either.
Families trust rideshare companies with their children. This should never happen. I will be releasing the video also.
