A 12-year-old Florida girl hailed a ride from an Uber driver, who took her to a parking garage where she jumped to her death.
The family of Benita “BB” Diamond is demanding answers after the girl used her mother's phone to download the ride-sharing app in the middle of the night Jan. 10 and order a ride to downtown Orlando, reported WESH-TV.
The girl used her mother's phone because hers had been locked, paid for the 20-mile ride using a gift card she'd gotten for Christmas.
She left a note saying she had "passed the point of no return," and then jumped from the top of the parking garage.
"I think if Uber had followed their policy, without a doubt our daughter would still be here," said her father. "That would have been the one red flag we would have caught. There is no way she's getting away with that in our household, we were too much active parents."
Her parents want Uber to enforce its policy against minors riding alone, especially without checking for parental consent, and are considering a lawsuit against the ride-sharing service.
"If she'd been asked, where's your mom and dad? We believe she would've been here," said family attorney Laura Douglas.
A company representative said the girl's death had not previously been reported to them, but the incident was now under investigation.
Uber recently reminded drivers of its policy on underage riders in a blog post on company guidelines.
"If they are under 18," the company said, "please decline the trip and report it to Uber. Note that refusing or canceling trips on this basis will not impact your driver rating or account status."
