News

Actions

Local woman describes nightmare Lyft ride

Posted at 7:21 PM, May 23, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-27 17:01:59-04

SAN DIEGO -- A local woman says a Lyft ride for her and her friends turned into a ride from hell.

She and five others hopped inside an SUV around 11 p.m. Saturday night after ordering a Lyft from University City to a bar in Pacific Beach.

Moments into the ride, the woman, who knows the area well, told the driver: "I say, 'Please take a left. He ignores me, and I say, 'Sir, please take a left.'"

She said he ignored her again.

"He immediately loses his mind, turns around and says, 'Shut the **** up. You're riding ****, so why don't you be a **** and shut the **** up,'" she saidi.

The woman said he cussed her out dozens of times.

At first, she argued with him, but eventually she stopped.

"I felt really scared, to be honest. I've never felt so unsafe; I thought he was high or drunk. I thought he was going to pull out a gun and shoot me. That's how insane he was acting." 

When the driver drove onto a highway at more than 70 miles per hour, she said her boyfriend, in the front passenger seat, tried to defend her, but it didn't work.

"Literally reaches over and unbuckles my boyfriend's seatbelt and slams on his brakes. We all go flying. I almost go through the center. My boyfriend stops himself on the dashboard from going through the windshield," she said.

Moments later, she said the driver surprised them again.

"He looks at my boyfriend laughing and says, 'You better buckle up,'" she said.

The woman said not long after, he abruptly pulled over and the group scrambled out.

"He jumps the curb, tries to hit my friend here, who jumps out of the way, and he speeds off," she said.

The woman said they called 911, but police later told them there wasn't enough evidence of a crime.

"I have no doubt if he continues to drive other people, someone will get hurt," she said.

The woman's group also complained to Lyft.

The company told 10News the man is no longer a driver, saying they have a "zero-tolerance policy" when it comes to any sort of violent behavior or harassment.

10News has not identified the driver because he has not been arrested.