A year after an Uber driver was shot in the head, the mother of the victim has filed a wrongful death and negligence lawsuit against the ride-share company. Christina “Christi” Spicuzza, 38, is alleged to have been murdered by Calvin Anthony Crew, 24, after he pulled a gun on her as she was driving him as part of an Uber taxi service. Cindy Spicuzza, the mother of the victim, has now filed a federal civil lawsuit against Uber for the wrongful death of her daughter. The ride began on 10 February; Mr Crew called his girlfriend Tanaya Mullen to order him an Uber using her Apple Pay account, Allegheny County Police say. Spicuzza accepted the ride and picked up Mr Crew around 9.11pm. Spicuzza, a mother of four, was found dead around midday on 12 February 2022. She was left lying face-down wearing a “Covid face mask” in a wooded area in Monroeville, Pennsylvania. Mr Crew was known to authorities as already “adjudicated for a robbery” he committed at the age of 14. The lawsuit relays that Uber failed to protect Spicuzza in three different ways: Uber should have verified Mr Crew’s identity before he entered Spicuzza’s vehicle, that Mr Crew’s previous criminal convictions should have been notified to Spicuzza and finally that Uber should have provided her with basic safety features. Distressing dashcam footage released by the court shows the moment that Mr Crew, who was wearing a balaclava to try and hide his identity, pushed a gun to the back of Spicuzza’s neck while holding her ponytail. In the background, the Uber app is heard saying to “drop off Tanaya”, meaning the journey was supposed to end there. The probable cause affidavit confirmed that the suspect told Spicuzza to keep on driving while holding the gun to her head. “Come on, I have a family,” Spicuzza said. “I got a family too, now drive,” Mr Crew replied. “I’m begging you, I have four kids,” Spicuzza said. “Please take that off of me,” asking him to put down the gun. The suspect allegedly said, “Do what I say and everything will be alright.” According to the affidavit, Mr Crew had been texting and calling his girlfriend Ms Mullen throughout the ride, possibly talking about picking up cannabis. “Whatever you doing tonight be careful,” Ms Mullen allegedly said to Mr Crew during the Uber ride. The night after the murder of Spicuzza, Ms Mullen allegedly texted Mr Crew, “I’m not going to jail if we get caught.” Mr Crew made the victim drive for an hour while going through her banking apps, and then eventually killed her, detectives say. “Had Uber applied its driver background check procedures to passengers, used its massive data analysis capabilities to screen out dangerous passengers, permitted drivers to cancel suspicious fares without penalty, or simply provided basic safety features in Ms Spicuzza’s Uber-approved rental car, these simple and effective measures—all readily available to Uber—could have saved Ms Spicuzza’s life,” the lawsuit said. “Unfortunately, however, Uber knew the dangers its drivers faced from dangerous, unverified passengers like Mr. Crew, and chose to do nothing, evincing a conscious corporate attitude for ‘profits over people,’ leaving behind Ms. Spicuzza’s family to grieve her tragic and preventable death.” The lawsuit states that Uber “could easily fulfil” its duty to protect their drivers “by applying the same screening standards it currently applies to its drivers to its passengers, as well as verifying who is ordering the ride.” In a statement to Law&Crime, an Uber spokesperson said that “No family should have to suffer such an unimaginable loss.” “While we cannot comment on pending litigation, we are committed to the safety of drivers who utilize the Uber app. Over the years, we’ve introduced features and policies, designed with safety in mind, like the in-app Safety Toolkit, the ability to freeze rider accounts with fake names and requiring ID from riders in some circumstances,” the Uber spokesperson said. “The safety of drivers is a high priority, and we’ll continue investing in safety features to raise the bar.” The lawsuit seeks a jury trial in the civil case. Mr Crew was arrested several days after the murder of Spicuzza. CBS News reported in March this year that a jury selection is set to begin his trial, with prosecutors seeking the death penalty. Read More Uber raises minimum age for most California drivers to 25, saying insurance costs are too high Woman escapes alleged kidnapper posing as an Uber driver by passing secret note to gas station customer Danelo Cavalcante - live: Homeowner ‘opened fire’ on fugitive after he stole rifle, locals told to lock doors

Sha’Carri Richardson, Marie-Josée Ta Lou, Shericka Jackson and defending champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce all won their 100-meter heats at world championships to stay on track for a showdown in what could be the most unpredictable final of the nine-day track meet

An Italian court on Monday convicted more than 200 mobsters and their white-collar helpers, the culmination of a historic, nearly three-year trial...

A social media user said, 'Ahhh, I listen to Peach Candy every week! So glad y'all didn't forget about it'

Daniel Ricciardo has said he needed to fall back in love with Formula One before taking the opportunity to return to racing with AlphaTauri. The eight-time grand prix winner has not driven in anger since he was axed by McLaren at the end of last season, but will make a surprise return to the grid at the Hungarian Grand Prix next week after replacing Nyck De Vries at Red Bull’s junior team AlphaTauri. The 34-year-old Australian’s career looked to be all but over after he was deemed surplus to requirements by McLaren following two underwhelming seasons with the British team. Ricciardo did return to Red Bull as a reserve driver, but said he needed the enforced time off to ask himself if he really did want to return to racing. “Falling out of love with it took a hit on my confidence and of course if you’re competing in a sport where you’re trying to be the best at something, the best in the world at something, obviously you need full confidence and belief,” Ricciardo said in an interview on F1’s YouTube channel. “When that starts to diminish a bit, your enjoyment drops a bit as well. There’s a lot of factors. Getting back to Red Bull, just the reception I had walking back into that team was in a positive way a little bit overwhelming. “Getting back on the sim, I was a bit unsure how it was going to go, if the car would feel like it used to, if I was going to be like – for the lack of better words – ‘the old me’. “But once I’d done a few sim sessions and started feeling like myself again it brought me back to normal Daniel where I was falling back in love and ready to go again.” Ricciardo said attending the Super Bowl in Arizona in February reminded him of the buzz of a competitive environment, while being at his home grand prix in Melbourne and then the Monaco race helped him get the Formula One bug back. “I’ve enjoyed these six months off and it was really good for me but the more races I started to attend, the more sims I’ve started to do, I was getting the bug back. And then jumping in the car a few days ago I thought, ‘Oh yeah’. It all felt very normal, very familiar… “I didn’t really need to think too much about (accepting the call to return). I think being back in this family, I’m kind of going through it all again…there was no question I was going to say yes.” Ricciardo said joining AlphaTauri for the rest of the season was like going “full circle” given he raced the team, then known as Toro Rosso, in 2012 and 2013, after starting his F1 career with HRT Racing in 2011. AlphaTauri sit last in the constructor’s championship after the opening 10 races of the season and Ricciardo is under no illusions that he will be racing a top-end car any time soon. “I’m excited about it,” he said. “It’s a challenge for sure to jump in and try to hit the ground running. But also I guess I feel like I’ve been through a lot in the last few years where I’m not really scared of anything that’s going to be thrown my way – so I actually really do like the challenge. “It will be a challenge but I don’t know if I’d have it any other way.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live How does Max Verstappen and Red Bull compare to the greats of Formula One? Lando Norris ‘honoured’ to join Lewis Hamilton in battle for Formula One glory Lando Norris calls finishing runner-up at British Grand Prix ‘pretty insane’

Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou appears to be moving towards a swift resolution of his future amid reports he has verbally agreed to become Tottenham’s new manager. Postecoglou admitted on Saturday that his ability to enjoy Celtic’s treble success would soon be disrupted by some decision-making and that seems to have happened even quicker than he anticipated. The 57-year-old dodged questions on his future before and after Saturday’s Scottish Cup final win over Inverness having emerged as the overwhelming frontrunner to take over at Spurs. Neither club are commenting publicly but reports claim Postecoglou told Celtic principal shareholder Dermot Desmond on Saturday night that he intended to leave for London and he is now said to be closing in on signing a two-year Spurs deal with the option to extend. When repeatedly pressed on his future after Celtic’s 3-1 Hampden win over Inverness on Saturday, the Greek-born Australian said: “I anticipate enjoying this moment for the next 24-48 hours, as long as I can, before someone drags me away and takes my attention away from enjoying something that’s been hard-earned. “The reality is, there’s probably players in that dressing room who won’t be here next year. That’s the nature of football. “But I want them to enjoy it, I am going to enjoy it, and that’s all I am going to focus on until someone grabs me by the collar and tells me that I have to answer certain questions.” The former Australia head coach has won five domestic trophies out of a possible six after arriving from Yokohama F Marinos in Japan and was linked with numerous Premier League clubs throughout this season. Postecoglou became a hero with the Celtic support, not just for resuming their success after a barren season, but also for implementing an attacking style of play and his connection with the fans. But he looks set to swap Glasgow for another rebuild job as Spurs finally look to appoint a permanent successor to Antonio Conte, who departed on March 26. Postecoglou is due to go on a family holiday on Tuesday and a deal could be finalised quickly. Former Hoops manager Brendan Rodgers has emerged as an unlikely favourite to succeed Postecoglou, four years after leaving the club mid-season to take over at Leicester. Assistant manager John Kennedy is also high up the list but reports claim Postecoglou hopes to take the former Celtic defender to Tottenham. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Kasatkina hits out at French Open crowd over booing after defeat to Svitolina Kane, Mbappe and Osimhen – A look at Real Madrid’s possible striking targets Football rumours: Manchester City look to tie down Erling Haaland to new deal

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti was asked about reports stating Karim Benzema will leave the club at a press conference on Saturday.

Former Atlanta Falcons and Indianapolis Colts QB Matt Ryan has hinted at a comeback. Will any teams give him a call?Matt Ryan has signed on to be an NFL analyst for CBS this coming season, but that doesn't mean his playing days are behind him. Ryan has expressed remorse over how his NFL car...

Bet365 is giving new users a guaranteed $150 bonus betting just $5 on ANY game tonight! See how to claim this exclusive bonus here and ensure you're winning big.

Prince Harry choked up in court as he concluded an eight-hour testimony in his lawsuit against a major British newspaper publisher, admitting he would feel an "injustice" if his claims of phone hacking were dismissed by the judge.

Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur are interested in signing young Irish talent Sam Curtis, sources have confirmed to 90min.

KHARTOUM Sudan's capital Khartoum and sister city Bahri came under renewed air attack on Friday as the war