Two American college students have been jailed in Denmark over an alleged Uber dispute while traveling for spring break.
Owen Ray, 19, and an unnamed friend, both U.S. citizens, were traveling when the pair were detained at Copenhagen Airport on April 1, according to Ray’s family. Ray, a student at Miami University in Ohio, had been studying abroad and was visiting Denmark while on spring break.
“Owen Ray and a friend were the victims of an unprovoked verbal and physical assault by an Uber driver in Denmark,” a spokesperson for Ray’s family told Fox News Digital. “They did nothing to instigate the attack.”
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Owen Ray smiles in an undated photograph. Ray and his friend were arrested in Copenhagen Airport after an alleged dispute with an Uber driver while traveling for spring break. (Courtesy of the Ray Family)
Miami University in Ohio did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
On March 31, Ray and his friend were in an Uber when Ray reportedly entered the wrong address in the Uber app and asked the driver if he and his friend could exit the vehicle, his mother, Sara Buchen-Ray, told FOX 32 Chicago.
The situation quickly escalated, with the Uber driver threatening to call the police and kicking Ray in the groin, according to Buchen-Ray. Ray reportedly pushed the Uber driver to the ground, and the pair escaped.
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“They went back to the hotel,” Buchen-Ray said. “They had flights to leave that next morning, so they cleaned up at the hotel.”
The next day, the two students were arrested by local police upon arriving at Copenhagen Airport to return home.
“We urge the Danish authorities to recognize Owen’s innocence and release him immediately,” the family’s spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “Our family is heartbroken, and we want our son home to celebrate Easter with us this week.”
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Owen Ray smiles in an undated photograph. Ray and his friend were arrested in Copenhagen Airport after an alleged dispute with an Uber driver while traveling for spring break. (Courtesy of the Ray Family)
Later that day, the two students appeared in court and were charged with common assault, Copenhagen police confirmed to Fox News Digital. Ray and his friend were sentenced to 10 days of pre-trial detention, which has been extended to April 24.
“We are aware of media reports of two U.S. citizens detained in Denmark,” the U.S. State Department said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Staff at our embassy in Copenhagen are providing consular assistance. The Department has no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens abroad.”
Ray’s Denmark-based attorney did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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“The safety of everyone who uses the Uber app is a top priority, and we take reports of violence very seriously,” Uber said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “The driver reported to Uber that he was assaulted by two riders who were later arrested by Danish police.”
Fox News Digital’s Daniella Genovese contributed to this report.
