Yesterday’s horrific rape case in King County, Washington, in which a man posed as a rideshare driver and raped a woman, has left the entire country shocked. Today, the man surrendered to the police after close circuit camera footage was shared widely and the man was eventually identified. The police got hold of the footage yesterday, in which the man’s face is visible and circulated the image widely, which is why he has been identified so fast. The name of the man has not been given out yet by the police, but it has emerged that he is 34 year old. A member of the victim’s family identified from the surveillance footage that had been circulated.

Following the surrender, the office of the King County Sheriff released a statement regarding the matter. It stated, “Thanks to the extensive media coverage, a family member recognized the person of interest and, a short time later, the 34-year-old male turned himself in. Upon further investigation, the suspect was arrested today at his attorney’s office and booked into the King County Jail for investigation of rape.”

The man in question impersonated a rideshare driver, but police later found out that he is in no way affiliated with any ride-sharing company. The police statement gave some details of the crime. In the statement, the police stated, “She went outside to catch the rideshare home that a friend had ordered for her. A man in a black vehicle, possibly a Dodge Charger, led her to believe he was her ride-share driver. While driving her home, the victim states the man pulled the vehicle over and raped her.”

However, larger questions remain about the potential safety issues that might arise due to the widespread use of ride haling apps like Uber and Lyft. Such incidents have happened in the past as well, and lawmakers in South Carolina even introduced a bill after a student was killed in a similar incident. She mistook another car to be her ride and was then killed by the driver. According to that particular bill, cars affiliated to ride share companies should bear prominent glow signs depicting the company, so that customers are perfectly aware of the car which they are boarding.