Morris Prosecutor: Sami's Law for Ride Safety is Focus of March 18 Forum at FDU

Published on February 26, 2020

The Morris County Prosecutor's Office invites all county residents to a special March 18 forum on ride safety and Sami's Law, as its first 2020 presentation as part of its New Jersey Attorney General's 21/21/ Community Policing Project.

Sami's Law, initially authored as potential federal law by Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey, went into effect as a state law in New Jersey in June of 2019 as the result of a brutal slaying of a New Jersey student in South Carolina earlier that year.

On March 29, 2019, Samantha Josephson, a 21-year-old senior at the University of South Carolina and resident of Robbinsville, N.J., was kidnapped and murdered when she was targeted by a fake Uber driver. After she got into a stranger's car €” mistaking it for her Uber €” the child safely locks were activated, preventing her from escaping, police said.

As a result of this tragedy, Sami's Law was enacted, requiring Uber and Lyft drivers in New Jersey to prominently display lighted signs and a QR code as a safety regulation.

Seymour and Marci Josephson are remarkable, courageous people who have channeled their deep, abiding love for their daughter, Sami, into a national campaign to protect others from predators and murderers who can still pose as fake rideshare drivers with the intent to do harm, said Rep. Smith who represents Robbinsville where the Josephsons live. Today we see their enormous impact here at home, as New Jersey is the first state to pass legislation that mirrors the federal version of Sami's Law.

The March 18 community forum will be held from 1-3 p.m at the Florham Campus of Fairleigh Dickinson University, in the Orangerie Building, at (for GPS) 285 Madison Avenue, Madison, N.J. 07940. It is free and open to all students and county residents.

For more information, contact Detective Sgt. Patrick LaGuerre at 973-285-6200 or plaguerre@co.morris.nj.us

(PNG, 10KB)