Woman Charged After Allegedly Shooting Uber Driver and Taking His Car for Errands

A young woman from Washington state, now 20, is facing two decades behind bars after a tragic incident during her teenage years. She fatally shot an Uber driver, a devoted father of two, and subsequently used his Toyota Prius to run personal errands, including getting her hair styled and visiting family.

Neiana Allen-Bailey was handed a 20-year prison sentence last week following her guilty plea to second-degree murder. The victim, 52-year-old Amare Geda, was killed in 2023 while working a late-night Uber shift in downtown Seattle, as recorded in court documents. During the sentencing, a poignant song composed by Geda’s 10-year-old son was played, expressing the child’s wish to have prevented his father from going to work that fateful night.

The lyrics, shared by local ABC station KOMO, reflected a heartfelt message: “Wherever you are, Dad, I hope you are safe.”

According to police reports, Allen-Bailey approached Geda’s Prius, which was parked near First Avenue South and South Walker Street, at around 3:30 a.m., and opened fire. She then dragged his body from the vehicle and left him on the street.

During the sentencing, Allen-Bailey expressed deep remorse, acknowledging that her apologies could never undo the harm she caused. “It’s unthinkable, unbearable, unbelievable what has happened,” she said, as reported by KOMO. “Life will never be the same. The pain will never go away, I understand this … I have constant dreams of what I can remember from that night. I’m sorry for my part in this traumatizing situation.”

Police said that Allen-Bailey admitted to driving around the Seattle area for two days — visiting her family in Skyway, smoking marijuana in Rainier Beach, getting her hair done in Kent, and gassing the car up for $20 at a car wash in Renton — before her arrest in August 2023. She was caught during a police stakeout as she allegedly walked to Geda’s Prius in a “no-parking zone” during a street fair in Denny Park.

“Today, there is only one life sentence and that is for Mr. Geda,” prosecutor Thomas O’Ban told the court during Friday’s sentencing. The prosecutor’s request for a longer prison term was denied.

At a vigil following his death, Geda was remembered as a hardworking family man, dedicated father, and churchgoer from Ethiopia.

“We are left not only with the deep sorrow of losing Amare, but we live with the trauma of losing him to such a violent and vicious murder,” said Daniel Negash Ajema, a representative for the Geda family, according to local NBC affiliate KING. “The trauma, pain, anger and powerlessness we feel today will never dissipate.”

The Seattle Rideshare Drivers Association said in a Facebook post that Geda had been working two jobs for the past 14 years to support his family.

“At night, he drove, while during the day, he worked at the airport,” the association said.

A fellow rideshare driver who spoke at Allen-Bailey’s sentencing described how Geda was “the type of individual who cared about you and showed love” as a mentor.

“He was an amazing person — an angel on earth,” the woman said, according to KOMO. “And now we all have him as an angel.”