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A Florida family is considering legal action against Uber after the company allegedly allowed their 12-year-old daughter to get in a car alone and be driven to a parking garage in Orlando, where she jumped to her death.
Lisha Chen, the mother of Benita Diamond, fought back tears in a press conference Thursday while describing the events leading up to her daughter’s suicide on Jan. 10.
Chen said while she was asleep early in the morning, Benita took her unlocked phone and requested an Uber from a vacant lot near their home. The driver took Benita to her destination in downtown Orlando where she subsequently jumped off the top of a nine-story parking garage.
“The Uber driver, who did not follow the policy at all, did not ask any question about her age, did not question why she was by herself, did not question the drop-off destination which is downtown on a corner of the street,” Chen said. “There is no school there. And she had a backpack.”
“I believe that if the driver had questioned or followed a rule or denied a ride my daughter would be here today,” Chen added.
UBER PASSENGER’S DEATH DRAWS ATTENTION TO ‘VOMIT FRAUD ALLEGATIONS IN RIDE-SHARING BUSINESS
Benita Diamond was allowed to ride alone in an Uber vehicle before her suicide in Orlando in January, her mother says. (Facebook)
Chen and her family, according to the Orlando Sentinel, have hired a law firm to represent them and are considering filing a lawsuit.
On Uber’s website, it states that users must be 18 years and older to have an account and request rides – and anyone under that age must be accompanied on their rides by an adult.
“As a driver-partner, you should decline the ride request if you believe the person requesting the ride is under 18,” their policy states. “When picking up riders, if you feel they are underage, you may request they provide a driver's license or ID card for confirmation. If a rider is underage, please do not start the trip or allow them to ride.”
At a press conference Thursday, Chen – wearing a necklace with her daughter’s ashes inside – told reporters that it’s “all I have left of her.”
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She described Benita as a straight-A student who enjoyed playing piano, dancing, and ju-jitsu.
“The point is, she was a child, 12 years old,” Chen said. “Her brain, her mind was not developed 100 percent.
“She may have been going through a tough time, but because she did not share her thoughts, and she did not seek help, we could not help her, because we didn’t know,” she added.
Benita used her mother’s phone to call the Uber ride because her own phone was monitored by her parents and was locked every morning until 8 a.m., Chen said. Benita allegedly paid for the ride with a gift card she had received just weeks earlier at Christmas.
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“We were good parents,” said her father, Ron Diamond. “We will always look in the mirror a little bit, wondering what did we do wrong – that is something that is natural with something like this. And we’re willing to look in the mirror every day and face blame where we think we might deserve it. But I tell you what – Uber picked up my daughter.”
Uber did not respond to a request for comment to Fox News, but in a statement to Fox35 Orlando, said the incident was not reported to them in the last six months and have opened up an investigation. The company also said when they receive reports of underage drivers, the drivers and account holders risk being banned from the app.
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