A Miami University student and his friend have been released from a Danish jail but cannot return home after an Uber ride dispute, according to the student’s family.
The family of Owen Ray, a 20-year-old student at Miami, said he was arrested March 31 with his friend during a trip in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, after an argument turned physical with an Uber driver.
Ray’s family says the Uber driver threatened Owen and his friend over not paying for a canceled fare. The duo had ordered an Uber to their hotel and realized they selected the wrong hotel once they were in the car. The driver declined to take them to the right hotel and they exited the car, canceling the ride in the app but still paying a fee for the fare, the family said.
The family says the driver left but returned five minutes later, threatening the students over not being paid. The driver exited his car and then assaulted Owen, causing a scuffle that Owen and his friend fled from, according to Owen’s family.
Uber confirmed the students paid for their fare, according to a statement to Enquirer media partner Fox19. The driver reported to Uber that he was assaulted by the two students, not the other way around.
Owen Ray, third from left, and his friends took a trip to Copenhagen. After a dispute with an Uber driver, Ray and one of his friends were arrested and remain stuck in Denmark.
Still, the next morning, Owen and his friend were at the airport to fly back to the United States when they were arrested by Danish authorities, the family said.
They were sent to Vestre Prison, a pre-trial jail in Copenhagen, where they remained in custody for two weeks before they were released Monday. Now, with their passports confiscated, it will take some more time before they’re allowed to return home.
“The facts make clear that Owen is the victim in this case, and we urge Danish officials to allow him to return home to the United States without delay,” said Owen’s parents, Andy Ray and Sara Buchen-Ray, in a statement.
The U.S. State Department, through an embassy in Copenhagen, is providing consular assistance to the two students, according to a department spokesperson.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Miami student stuck in Denmark after going to jail over Uber ride
DJ Kamal Mustafa
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