Diligent Ethiopian immigrant Amare Geda, aged 52, met a tragic end in Seattle’s SODO district on August 8th, 2023. The incident occurred as he was fulfilling his duties as an Uber driver.
Based on video footage from surveillance cameras, Neiana Allen-Bailey, an 18-year-old individual, approached the vehicle and fired at Geda. Allen-Bailey is presently in custody, facing a bail amount of $2 million, subsequent to being apprehended with the stolen car. For a span of two days, Allen-Bailey operated the vehicle, engaging in various tasks and going about her routine, until law enforcement located the car.
Authorities maintained surveillance, awaiting Allen-Bailey’s return. However, she did not present herself in court and displays a lack of remorse for her actions and their impact, which has caused significant distress to many individuals.
This marks the second audacious and fatal assault on a driver within the last twelve months. In the preceding September, a tragic incident claimed the life of Mohamed Kediye, a 48-year-old Lyft driver, who was fatally shot close to the renowned Amazon Spheres, a frequented tourist destination. Comparable occurrences have taken place beyond the city boundaries, receiving minimal attention from the media.
Seattle is at the forefront among cities witnessing a departure of its inhabitants, with concerns about crime and violence being the prevailing motivation for relocation. Over the past year, there has been a notable 24% increase in homicides, accompanied by a 4% rise in overall criminal activities within the city’s confines. The specifics of these incidents, including those that transpired within homeless encampments around the vicinity, remain somewhat unclear.
The Seattle Rideshare Association, along with Mayor Bruce Harrell, is actively collaborating to provide support to the grieving family during this difficult period. The prevalence of overt, unprovoked, and arbitrary acts of violence in Seattle has become a challenging issue that the Seattle Police Department is grappling with. The Seattle Rideshare Association is advocating for legislators to take significant measures to safeguard rideshare employees and to elevate the severity of penalties for violence directed at them.
Rideshare workers, much like taxi drivers, bus operators, postal staff, and other essential personnel, engage in roles that expose them to increased vulnerability to acts of violence. In a broader context, Washington State witnessed a 9% rise in violent crimes throughout 2022, with a concerning statistic indicating a crime against a person occurring every 5 minutes.
