• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

MacKenzie Scott, Melinda French Gates, and Lauren Sánchez Bezos are rewriting the rules of billionaire giving—one quietly, one strategically, one very publicly

2

After donating $48 billion to the Gates Foundation, Warren Buffett is quietly ending one of the biggest philanthropic relationships in history

3

26 Meta employees accuse Mark Zuckerberg of using AI to target 8,000 layoffs against workers on medical, parental or family leave

1

MacKenzie Scott, Melinda French Gates, and Lauren Sánchez Bezos are rewriting the rules of billionaire giving—one quietly, one strategically, one very publicly

2

After donating $48 billion to the Gates Foundation, Warren Buffett is quietly ending one of the biggest philanthropic relationships in history

3

26 Meta employees accuse Mark Zuckerberg of using AI to target 8,000 layoffs against workers on medical, parental or family leave
TechUber Technologies

Cops Say Uber Driver Saved 16-Year-Old Passenger From Sex Trafficking

By
People
People
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
People
People
Down Arrow Button Icon
December 31, 2016, 12:36 PM ET
Thousands of local car owners have signed up in recent months to drive with UberX.
WASHINGTON, DC - APR 4: UberX driver, Regan Rucker, drives a customer home, April 4, 2014, in Washington, DC. (Note -- That is not the real phone number of customer Tilman, Uber uses a security system that uses dummy phone number so neither drivers nor passengers have each others real phone numbers.) Rucker, a single mom who recently started driving for UberX, likes the flexibility of UberX because she can work whenever and however long she wants. Thousands of local car owners have signed up in recent months to drive with one of the "ride-share" operators that use smartphone apps to link people needing rides with car owners willing to give them, for a price. (Photo by Evelyn Hockstein/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)The Washington Post The Washington Post/Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

It started out like any other Uber transaction.

Keith Avila, a photographer who also drives for the ridesharing company, picked up two women and a girl at a home in Sacramento, California on Monday. As they got into the car, Avila noticed the girl looked young.

“She looked like she was about 12,” he tells PEOPLE, “but she was wearing a short skirt that showed off her legs.”

Almost immediately, Avila says, the conversation began to raise red flags. “The lady in the back started getting really upset,” he recalls. “She was yelling at the girl, ‘You need to get your priorities straight. We need to make this money.’ ”

For more on sexual assault, watch:

As he drove, Avila says he tried to process what was happening. “I was thinking, ‘What does she mean by money? Is she selling drugs?’”

He says the situation soon became more clear: “The woman in the back started coaching the girl. She said, ‘before you go in, check for weapons. When you hug them and touch them, pat them down.’”

The conversation turned to talk about payment. “The woman told the girl to get the donation first,” Avila tells PEOPLE. “She said, ‘Ask if they have your donation before you go into the room.’ ”

Avila, a 34-year-old married dad, then believed that the woman was a pimp and that the girl was a victim of sex trafficking. And he was driving them to a hotel.

Backpage.com Hit With New Pimping, Money-laundering Charges in California

“I was 100 percent sure I knew what was happening,” Avila tells PEOPLE. “It wasn’t 99.999 percent. It was 100 percent. And I knew I had to do something, but I didn’t know exactly how I was going to do it. I wondered if I should take pictures with my phone.”

As they drove up to the hotel, one of the women got out of the car with the girl, Avila says. The other woman stayed in the car and made one more phone call.

“It was very professional,” he says. “She sounded like a dentist’s secretary. She said, ‘I just want to make sure there’s no law enforcement there.’ And then she said, ‘Room 110.’ ”

As soon as the second woman got out of the car, Avila drove a few hundred feet down the road and called the police, who arrived within minutes. With Avila’s descriptions, they went straight to Room 110.

How Palantir Uses Big Data to Find Missing Kids

As it turns out, Avila’s hunch about may have been right. Police say that the girl was a 16-year-old prostitute and the two women with her were allegedly involved in sex trafficking. (A police spokesperson confirms Avila’s account of his involvement to PEOPLE.)

Authorities have arrested Destiny Pettway, 25, and Maria Westley, 31, and charged them both with pimping and threatening a minor. They are being held without bond. It’s unclear whether they have retained attorneys or entered pleas.

Police also arrested the suspected john, 20-year-old Disney Vang. He was arrested and charged with soliciting a prostitute and sexual contact with a minor.

He did not return PEOPLE’s call for comment, and it’s unclear if he has retained an attorney or entered a plea.

Uber Will Give 15 Million Rides on New Year’s Eve. Here Are Tips to Avoid the Chaos

Police say that they’re grateful to Avila for getting involved.

“He could’ve said nothing. Went on his way, collected his fare. And then that 16-year-old victim could’ve been victimized again by who knows how many different people over the next couple of days, weeks, months,” Elk Grove police Officer Chris Trim told FOX 40.

Uber is also heralding Avila’s actions. “What Keith did is incredible,” a company spokeswoman told The Washington Post in a statement. “We appreciate his quick response and professionalism in a difficult situation.”

Avila tells PEOPLE that he’d do the same thing over again.

“I knew what was happening,” he says, “and I would never have been able to ignore it. It was the right thing to do.”

This article originally appeared on People.com.

About the Author
By People
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

OpenAI wants its speaker to feel alive. Apple says it’s a stolen idea
AIOpenAI
OpenAI wants its speaker to feel alive. Apple says it’s a stolen idea
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJuly 15, 2026
13 minutes ago
Murati’s Thinking Machines releases first AI model for broad use
AIMira Murati
Murati’s Thinking Machines releases first AI model for broad use
By Shirin Ghaffary and BloombergJuly 15, 2026
15 minutes ago
Job interview in office
SuccessThe Interview Playbook
Bending Spoons only hired 0.04% from its 800,000 job applications last year—its CEO says its cutthroat hiring process is unlike ‘useless’ interviews
By Emma BurleighJuly 15, 2026
4 hours ago
FedEx CEO says we are in the middle of the biggest supply chain shift he’s seen in 35 years: ‘We are the referendum’
C-SuiteFortune 500: Titans and Disruptors of Industry
FedEx CEO says we are in the middle of the biggest supply chain shift he’s seen in 35 years: ‘We are the referendum’
By Fortune EditorsJuly 15, 2026
4 hours ago
19 of Cyclops' members stand smiling at the camera from their offices in Vienna, Austria.
CryptoVenture Capital
Exclusive: Cyclops raises $20 million to help payment companies settle faster with stablecoins
By Camila Grigera NaónJuly 15, 2026
6 hours ago
zuck
LawLayoffs
26 Meta employees accuse Mark Zuckerberg of using AI to target 8,000 layoffs against workers on medical, parental or family leave
By Barbara Ortutay, Alexandra Olson and The Associated PressJuly 15, 2026
6 hours ago

Most Popular

MacKenzie Scott, Melinda French Gates, and Lauren Sánchez Bezos are rewriting the rules of billionaire giving—one quietly, one strategically, one very publicly
Newsletters
MacKenzie Scott, Melinda French Gates, and Lauren Sánchez Bezos are rewriting the rules of billionaire giving—one quietly, one strategically, one very publicly
By Sydney LakeJuly 14, 2026
1 day ago
After donating $48 billion to the Gates Foundation, Warren Buffett is quietly ending one of the biggest philanthropic relationships in history
North America
After donating $48 billion to the Gates Foundation, Warren Buffett is quietly ending one of the biggest philanthropic relationships in history
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJuly 14, 2026
1 day ago
26 Meta employees accuse Mark Zuckerberg of using AI to target 8,000 layoffs against workers on medical, parental or family leave
Law
26 Meta employees accuse Mark Zuckerberg of using AI to target 8,000 layoffs against workers on medical, parental or family leave
By Barbara Ortutay, Alexandra Olson and The Associated PressJuly 15, 2026
6 hours ago
Jamie Dimon understands why people are anti-rich: 'We have, in fact, left the lower-income folks behind' and 'that's kind of annoying'
Economy
Jamie Dimon understands why people are anti-rich: 'We have, in fact, left the lower-income folks behind' and 'that's kind of annoying'
By Eleanor PringleJuly 15, 2026
8 hours ago
Current price of gold as of July 14, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of gold as of July 14, 2026
By Danny BakstJuly 14, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of silver as of Tuesday, July 14, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Tuesday, July 14, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 14, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.