US college students jailed in Denmark after argument with Uber driver over wrong address: family

Two American college students on a spring break trip have been held in a Danish prison for two weeks after an argument with an Uber driver over a wrong address, according to family members.

Owen Ray, 20, a student at the University of Miami in Ohio, and his unnamed friend were detained at a Copenhagen airport on April 1, a day after entering the wrong destination address during an Uber ride led to a dispute with their driver, Ray’s mother, Sara Buchen-Ray, told CBS News

After realizing they put in the wrong address, Buchen-Ray said the two students asked to get out and order a new ride. 

“Approximately five minutes later, the Uber driver circled back around and found them walking and started yelling at them,” she told the outlet.

The Uber driver then accused Ray and his friend, who are from the Chicago area, of not paying for the ride, though receipts show they did, the mom said.

The family’s attorney, Jordan Finfer, told ABC News that the driver kicked Ray in the groin. In response, the student pushed the driver away, causing him to fall. Ray and his pal then ran away, the lawyer said.

Buchen-Ray was just four hours from picking up her son from the spring break trip at O’Hare International Airport when she received a text that her son had been detained.

“Approximately 6 a.m. in the morning, I got a text from a foreign number saying, ‘Mom, I’m in prison in Copenhagen,’” she told CBS.

The arrest took place while the students were in the airport, Finfer told the outlet.

Owen has still not been charged, but was detained due to being deemed a “flight risk,” Finfer said.

The status of his unnamed friend is not known.

“While they were waiting at the gates to board their planes to go home, they were arrested by the Danish police,” Finfer said.

“Owen is still detained, is likely to be detained through the end of the month – he’s never been charged,” Finfer said.

Buchen-Ray, who plans to travel to Copenhagen, said her son is locked up for 23 hours a day and she only gets to speak to him once a week.

She said she worries about how his time in jail will affect him down the road.

“There are going to be ramifications from this. You know, when you’re locked in a jail cell for 23 hours a day, you can’t come out without nothing,” Buchen-Ray said.

Owen and his friend have missed two weeks of school so far.

Buchen-Ray and Finfer are waiting for the case to go to trial, which should happen sometime this month. However, a 5-day court holiday for Easter may push back the proceedings, the outlet said.

Illinois US Senator Dick Durbin’s office released a statement to ABC, saying they have “been in regular contact with the family and our embassy in Denmark since being made aware of situation.”