CHICAGO — Two college students from the Chicago area were detained for almost two weeks in Denmark after a physical altercation with an Uber driver, according to reports.
“We were both just very shocked about the fact that we were being arrested over this incident,” 19-year-old Owen Ray told Good Morning America. “We had done nothing wrong.”
The incident occurred on March 31, when Ray and his friend, who is not named in media reports, ordered an Uber but put in the wrong address, according to ABC News. They opted to cancel the ride and got out, but the driver demanded payment, although Ray told Good Morning America that the driver had been paid.
Things escalated when the driver kicked Ray, at which point Ray pushed the driver and he fell, according to ABC News, which reported the college students fled but were detained the next day at Copenhagen Airport.
They were freed from jail Monday but are charged with common assault and remain in Denmark as authorities took their passports, according to ABC News, although WLS reported a lawyer said Monday they had not been charged.
Both are U.S. citizens from the Chicago area who are attending college out of state, according to WLS.
Uber, in a statement, told ABC News that “we take reports of violence very seriously.”