A former Uber driver accused of raping a passenger in February came on to the woman as she was vomiting in the backseat of his car, court records obtained Friday show.
John David Sanchez, 52, was arrested March 29 on suspicion of raping an intoxicated person. He has been arraigned and has pleaded not guilty to the felony charges.
Uber issued a statement the day of his arrest that Sanchez was terminated “immediately” after the allegations surfaced and has not been providing rides to patrons.
A search warrant affidavit obtained by NBC 7 provides disturbing details in the alleged rape.
Police said the night of Feb. 25, the woman was on a date with a man she met on an online dating site. The two were at The Office bar, a popular North Park bar in uptown San Diego, until about 2 a.m.
The woman’s date then hailed an Uber ride, as she was too intoxicated to drive home to El Cajon, according to court records.
As the driver, later identified as Sanchez, took her home on the freeway, the victim told him she needed to vomit, so he pulled over his Toyota Scion, police said in court records.
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As the woman vomited, the man attempted to console her and then started touching her leg, according to court documents.
After getting back in the driver’s seat, he continued on until he was about a block away from the woman’s home in El Cajon.
The woman “opened the door and began dry heaving … the driver again moved to the backseat and again tried consoling her,” according to court records.
That’s when police said the driver raped the woman, telling her: “you want this.”
Police said the woman then got out of the car and walked the rest of the way home, calling El Cajon investigators several hours later.
The woman’s date said he received a notification on his cellphone that the ride had been completed about 30 minutes later and it had charged his Uber account.
Police investigating the case interviewed the woman, who told them her driver’s name was John and he drove a Scion; police obtained Uber records and identified the driver as John Sanchez, according to court documents.
While police investigators initially believed there could be additional victims, they said this week that no other women have come forward.
Sanchez is no longer in the custody of the San Diego County Jail. He has a preliminary hearing on June 21.
He has no criminal record.
