"Sami's Law" would require ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft to display barcodes that passengers can scan to confirm the vehicle is the one they ordered and display placards with the driver’s name, photograph and license plate number.
The parents of a woman who was murdered after getting into a car she mistook for her Uber are vowing to spend the rest of their lives trying to get a law passed that will require rideshare drivers to provide more identification.
Seymour and Marci Josephson say their 21-year-old daughter, Samantha, was set to graduate from the University of South Carolina and begin law school.
But on March 29, 2019, all that changed when Samantha opened the door of what she thought was her Uber ride. Nathaniel Rowland, 27, was convicted of brutally stabbing Samantha 120 times and was recently sentenced to life in prison.
“There was a major fight in the car that he fought. And I have pictured that in my mind, over and over, that she was in complete panic, screaming ‘What are you doing?’” Seymour said.
“And I just pray that she thought of us at the end and not his disgusting face,” Marci said.
Rowland sat stone-faced in court when the verdict was read six weeks ago.
“His eyes were evil. There was no emotion to him,” Marci said.
The grief-stricken parents say they are now sentenced to a lifetime of heartache.
“[She wanted to] marry her college boyfriend. She wanted to have kids. She wanted us to live next door to her, take care of her kids while she worked,” Marci said.
“I looked forward to seeing her graduate from college, from law school and walking her down the aisle. That’s all gone,” Seymour said.
They are now fighting to pass “Sami’s Law,” which would require ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft to display barcodes that passengers can scan to confirm the vehicle is the one they ordered and display placards with the driver’s name, photograph and license plate number.
“I’m making this my mission to never have this happen again,” Seymour said.
The father plans to head to Washington later this month to lobby Congress for the law’s passage.
