Crime

Police: Uber driver strangled with wire, carjacked in Boston

Boston police said officers were able to track the stolen vehicle using the Uber driver’s phone, which was still inside.

November 7, 2025

1 minute to read

A Dorchester man is facing a slew of charges after police allege he strangled an Uber driver during a violent carjacking in Boston Thursday.

Boston police officers responded to the intersection of Massachusetts and Columbus avenues around 6:30 p.m. for the reported carjacking and found a “highly distressed” Uber driver, the department said in a statement.

A witness told officers they saw the rideshare driver struggling with someone in the vehicle’s back seat, according to police. The driver managed to escape and screamed for help as the suspect got behind the wheel and drove off, the witness reportedly said.

The Uber driver said she picked the man up in Cambridge and felt a cord or wire tighten around her neck and obstruct her breathing as the vehicle was stopped at the intersection of Massachusetts and Columbus avenues, according to police.

Emergency medics evaluated the woman at the scene.

Using the Uber driver’s phone, which was still in her vehicle, officers were able to track the car’s location to the area of Stanwood Street and Blue Hill Avenue. Authorities stopped the vehicle and arrested the carjacking suspect, identified by police as 24-year-old Christopher Dawkins.

Dawkins was scheduled for arraignment in the Boston Municipal Court’s central division Friday on charges of carjacking, strangulation or suffocation, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and larceny of a motor vehicle, court records show. It was not immediately clear whether he has retained an attorney.

Uber said it has banned the rider’s account and offers a number of safety features meant to protect its drivers.

“What this driver experienced is terrifying,” an Uber spokesperson said. “We’ve been in contact with the driver to check on their wellbeing and are thankful to law enforcement for their quick action. We are standing by to assist however we can in their investigation.”