Armed robbery suspect tries to use Uber as getaway car

File photo. (REUTERS/Sergio Perez)

Uber drivers presumably pick up all kinds of passengers during a typical day, but an incident in Baltimore last week surely marks a first for the ride-hailing company.

According to ABC News, a suspected armed robber tried to use an Uber car as a getaway vehicle following an alleged crime. The incident took place last week in Parkville, about five miles north of downtown Baltimore.

Now, we all know Uber's an ambitious company that's always on the lookout for new ways to make money, but we should at this point make it absolutely clear -- the incident was not part of a trial for a new service called UberGetaway.

In this particular case, the Uber driver apparently had absolutely no idea what was going on, though he may have cottoned on to the fact that this was no ordinary ride when a cop car's flashing lights appeared in the rearview mirror.

So what exactly happened? Well, according to reports, a 23-year-old man by the name of Dashawn Terrell Cochran allegedly entered a Parkville store in the small hours and, after approaching the counter with a bottle of Tylenol cold medicine, pulled a gun on the clerk and demanded money.

The suspect fled from the store with an unknown amount of cash and then, with cops quickly on his tail, was spotted getting into a silver Lexus.

After pulling the car over, the man behind the wheel told cops he was an Uber driver, presumably adding that he was unaware of Cochran's alleged misdeed.

Yes, it does all sound rather bizarre, and it's not known whether Cochran booked the car or if he just saw it nearby and jumped in. Oddly, there was another passenger in the vehicle when the cops pulled it over, though both the passenger and the driver were later released by cops who were satisfied they had nothing to do with the alleged robbery. Cochran, however, was arrested and charged with armed robbery, ABC News reported.