Uber driver accused of kidnapping in Sacramento County

SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. (KCRA) – A California Uber driver based in Sacramento County was arrested and accused of kidnapping three women, the sheriff’s department said Tuesday.

Three friends called the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department in June and reported an incident involving an Uber driver, later identified as Mark Filanov, 36, of Rancho Cordova, deputies said.

The women said Filanov was driving them in south Sacramento and refused to let them out of his vehicle.

“He said, ‘OK, now you’re going to tell me the real story or we’re all going to die,'” said Theadora Fuerstenberg, who ordered the Uber ride. “None of use knew what he was talking about, obviously.”

She added that Filanov didn’t say much as they got into the car. But once they got onto Interstate 80, she said things got uncomfortable and then scary.

“He pointed his car at the cement divider on the freeway and said, ‘Which way?'” Fuerstenberg said. “We all said, ‘Left.’ He made us basically scream left at him.”

As they passed exit after exit, the women said they began fearing the worst.