A female InDriver driver in La Paz was struck in the head with a chisel and strangled by a male passenger on June 2, in an attack the victim says authorities are reluctant to prosecute as attempted homicide.
Rocío Sánchez was picking up what she believed was a female passenger near the Ley Camino Real commercial area around 12:50 p.m. when a man entered her vehicle. The ride had been booked under a woman’s name. According to Sánchez’s account, the man hit her near the temple with a chisel, then wrapped his hands around her throat and attempted to strangle her.
Suspect Fled With Driver’s Belongings
The attacker fled the scene on foot with Sánchez’s bag, cellphone, wallet, and vehicle documents. Police launched a search and located a man matching the suspect’s description in the area.
Sánchez said authorities then told her the complaint might not move forward. Their reasoning: the suspect no longer had the stolen items in his possession and had changed his clothes. She is pushing for the case to be investigated as attempted homicide, not simple robbery with violence.
Driver Calls for Safety Precautions
InDriver, a ride-hailing app popular across Baja California Sur, allows passengers and drivers to negotiate fares directly. Unlike Uber or Didi, which require more verification steps, InDriver’s open model has drawn criticism for weaker safety screening. The app operates widely in La Paz, where taxis and rideshare vehicles are a primary mode of transportation.
Sánchez is now urging other rideshare drivers, particularly women, to take specific precautions. She recommends sharing real-time location with trusted contacts before every ride, carefully vetting ride requests (especially when passenger names don’t match the person who appears), and carrying legal self-defense tools.
Prosecution Concerns Raise Questions
The suggestion by authorities that a lack of physical evidence on the suspect could stall the case has drawn criticism. In Baja California Sur, crimes classified as robbery with violence carry lighter sentences than attempted homicide. Sánchez’s insistence on the more serious charge centers on the strangulation, which she argues went beyond a property crime and put her life at immediate risk.
La Paz has seen growing reports of safety incidents involving app-based drivers in recent years. Drivers in the city have organized informal safety networks on social media to share warnings about suspicious ride requests.
This story was first reported by Colectivo Pericú.