A Houston woman is taking Lyft to court after a harrowing encounter with a passenger that led to her being kidnapped and sexually assaulted. The victim, working part-time as a Lyft driver, was allegedly attacked by Kenneth Kelley, a 19-year-old linked to a robbery ring that targeted rideshare drivers, FOX 26 Houston reported.
According to her lawsuit, filed by attorneys at Blizzard Greenberg, the woman, identified only as J.W. for her safety, was forced to accept a ride that she initially tried to decline. The Lyft app reportedly warned her that failing to take the ride could potentially cost her job. When the same passenger, Kelley, requested the ride again, she felt pressured to accept. “What was going through my head at the time was, 'I'm about to die, I'm about to die, this is it,'" J.W. told ABC13.
During the trip, Kelley held a gun to J.W.’s head and forced her to drive to a secluded location, where he sexually assaulted her. "He groped me sexually and said a lot of nasty things," she recounted. The attack, which occurred in June 2023, was part of a spree that involved at least a dozen rideshare drivers, subjected to similar acts of violence and theft.
The lawsuit further accuses Lyft of failing to adequately protect its drivers and of not notifying police promptly when Kelley's first known victim reported a kidnapping and robbery in April 2023. “I almost lost life over $3.95 to someone they put in my car with a false name, a false account," J.W. said. Kelley, who allegedly used a fake identity on the Lyft platform, has since been indicted on 10 state criminal charges, including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated kidnapping, and sexual assault, and faces a federal indictment alongside five others on a total of 24 counts. These charges include interference with commerce by robbery and using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. He was arrested by the U.S. Marshals.
As for Lyft, the ride-sharing company is now swept into a legal battle over their responsibility to ensure the safety of not just passengers but drivers as well. This lawsuit comes amidst growing concern over the dangers that rideshare drivers navigate, often with little support or safeguard from the very platforms that promise to connect them with safe fares.
