Hero Uber driver pretended to be his customer’s boyfriend – and it saved her from a possible assault

AN UBER driver has been branded a “hero” online after he helped a woman escape an uncomfortable situation.

Brandon Gale, from Rock Island, Illinois, revealed that he pretended to be a customer’s boyfriend as she was trying to ditch a “persistent” man.

Taking to , dad Brandon explained the situation: “I got a call to pick up a woman from over by the fair. About 30 seconds after accepting the ride, the rider sent me a message via the app.

“’When you get here, can you pretend to be my boyfriend?’

“I didn't know to what capacity she meant, so I asked, ‘What do you mean?’. She then said, ‘I just need you to act like you know me, and that you're not my Uber driver’.”

Brandon explained that before he reached her destination he pulled over to remove his Uber stickers from his car window.

He admits that he “didn’t feel comfortable” removing his wedding ring so was sure to keep it out of sight when he went to pick up the girl.

He continued: “When I got there, I had my window rolled down. A man and a woman were in the front yard, talking.

“The woman was my fare and she set the scene immediately. She looked over and yelled, ‘Hi, Babe! I'll be right there!’

“I didn't want to leave her hanging, so I shouted back, ‘Awesome, because I'm starving!’ I waved at the guy. He half-assedly waved back.

“The ruse was complete. She skipped to my car, got in, and we took off. “

Once they had gotten away from the man the young woman explained what had happened.

Recalling her story Brandon said: “She went to the fair with a bunch of friends. In that group of friends was a guy that was very forward with her and wouldn't take no for an answer.

“He also had a history of being very aggressive. She thought that she could leave him behind by heading to her car, but he followed her, claiming to be a gentleman.

“Before they got to her car, she claimed to have lost her keys. He offered to give her a ride, and that's when she decided to call her ‘boyfriend.’”

This should never have had to happen. Men, learn to accept the word ‘no’ as a response.

Brandon Gale

He finished his post adding: “This should never have had to happen. Men, learn to accept the word ‘no’ as a response.

“Learn to take responsibility for your actions. Our sons are watching you and they're learning how to treat the women in their lives by example. Lead by a better one.

“Ladies, if you have the Uber or Lyft app, and you need an exit strategy, use the messaging system within the app. You can make special requests that could possibly save your life.”

His Facebook post quickly went viral receiving almost 2,000 likes and over a thousand shares as people flooded the comment section with praise.

One wrote: “This is awesome, thank you for doing that for her.”

Agreeing another added: “I don’t know you but just read this post.  Thank you for thinking of others and protecting this lady. Good man.”

“Not all heroes wear capes” said a third, adding, “I hope that someday someone will protect my daughter this way if she ever needs it.”

And Brandon’s wife also shared his story in a touching post where she praised her husband.

She said: “I couldn’t be more proud… One day it’d be nice if none of this was necessary but until then I’m glad there are still genuinely good people to stop possibly bad things from happening.”

In other news, we previously revealed the eight signs that your online date is bad news... and how to avoid them.

And a woman's account of her "date from hell" went viral after she revealed she was left with the £38 bill when the man left and text her calling her a "fatty."