Most people think the Uber driver is just there for convenience, but in this story the Uber driver saved a 16-year-old girl from child sex trafficking. Keith Avila said that he picked up two women and a teen in Sacramento, California and immediately thought something was wrong because of the way the young teen was dressed. When the three got into his car, they quickly began talking openly about the plan when they arrived at their destination.
The women were delivering the young teen to a “John” and planned on getting money from him. They coached the girl about checking for weapons and getting the “donation” at the very beginning.
Keith Avila is married and the father of a six-year-old son. He is an Uber driver and a quinceañera photographer as well. In fact, he had just recently photographed a quinceañera at the same hotel he dropped off the two women and the young girl.
As soon as the women left his car, he drove to a place where he couldn’t be seen and called the police. Elk Grove public information officer Chris Trim later reported that the officers arrived and immediately detained Destiny Pettway, 25, and Maria Westley, 31. They also found the teen with Disney Vang, a 20 year old man, in a hotel room. The women were arrested and charged with pimping and pandering, their bail was set at $500,000. And the man was arrested on suspicion of sexual activity with a minor.
The teen was found to be a runaway and was placed in an “alternative housing situation” until her parents could be located.
Keith Avila was contacted by a member of the Uber Safety Team to congratulate him for his work and let him know that the women have been banned permanently from any further Uber activity.
This Uber driver’s quick thinking and willingness to get involved saved the girl from a dangerous situation and stopped a chain of future trafficking.
