Uber driver accidentally drives off with a baby

An Uber driver accidentally drove off with a sleeping seven-month-old baby in the back – and only realised an hour later after collecting two more passengers.

Mother Elisabeth Katompa stepped out of the car at her home in Tottenham on Saturday and made her way round the other side to unstrap Olivia-Hope when the driver set off, oblivious.

The 31-year-old nurse and her sister chased the driver down the road but were unable to catch up with him so she called the police. 

The officers could not track down the driver using just his name and Ms Katompa did not realise she could contact the driver via the Uber app because she ‘couldn’t think straight’.

‘The panic that I was in… I was screaming and shouting and what-not. I called the police because that was the only thing I could think of,’ she told The Standard.  

The first customer did not question the baby’s presence so the driver only realised when a second customer asked what she was doing there.

The driver took the still sleeping baby to Bishopsgate police station where she was reunited with her anxious mother. 

Ms Katompa and Olivia-Hope at home together yesterday 

‘She wasn’t aware of anything that was going on and the officers were taking care of her,’ Ms Katompa said. 

Uber said it was the first such case they had ever heard of. A company spokesman said: ‘We were all surprised to hear about this unfortunate mix-up.

‘We normally hear about drivers finding mobile phones or keys in the back seat of their car but never a sleeping baby. 

‘As soon as the driver and a following passenger realised what had happened they drove to the local police station to safely reunite mum and baby.’

The Metropolitan Police said: ‘Police were called at around 11pm on Saturday, 24 February to a report of a missing one-year-old baby. 

‘The mother and baby had taken a private hire vehicle from Enfield to Tottenham and upon arriving at their destination, the vehicle had been driven away with the baby still in the back seat. 

‘Officers responded and made urgent enquiries to trace the vehicle. 

‘Just after 12.30, the driver attended a central London police station to report a baby in his car. The baby was reunited with her mother. No offence was recorded.’ 

An Uber spokesman said: ‘We were all surprised to hear about this unfortunate mix-up.’ Pictured: A file photo of one of the company’s cars