A California nurse who says she was raped by her Lyft driver in St. Louis in 2019 has settled her negligence lawsuit against the ride-booking company, and she is now speaking publicly to push for stronger safety measures across the industry. Cristen Giangarra, who grew up in Midwestern suburbs before relocating to California, says the man who attacked her is now in prison and that her own case took years to resolve.
Giangarra was raped by a Lyft driver in St. Louis in 2019, according to FOX 2. She later filed a lawsuit against Lyft alleging negligence, though the exact filing date is disputed: FOX 2's reporting places the filing in 2019, while Giangarra told The Cut that she was raped on June 22, 2019, and that the driver, Larry Ward, was criminally charged in December of that year before she filed suit against him and Lyft the following month. Ward later pleaded guilty to first-degree kidnapping and first-degree rape, per the same account.
A Settlement Reached Just Before Trial
Giangarra settled her lawsuit against Lyft, according to her own account, with the case concluding shortly before it was set to go to trial. The Cut reported that the settlement was finalized on June 9, 2026, just as proceedings were about to begin. Giangarra says she cannot discuss the settlement terms, and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has reported separately that the agreement's details are confidential, according to an attorney.
She has described the broader legal process as grueling. Giangarra said the prosecution of her attacker involved delays and frustration, and that the case as a whole dragged on for a long time before reaching any resolution. Despite the toll, she said she wished Lyft had made safety changes before people were hurt.
Lyft's Response and Safety Record
Lyft has said that everyone deserves to feel safe and respected on its platform, and a company spokesperson told The Cut that platform safety is never a static goal and requires ongoing vigilance for the millions of people who use the service every day. The company points to features it has introduced, including audio recording, PIN verification, and direct rider and driver blocking, according to a Lyft safety data report. Lyft also says that since 2020 it has rolled out location sharing, Emergency Help with ADT, updates to its Smart Trip Check-In feature, Rides for Others, and Lyft Family.
Lyft has expanded how it publicly discloses sexual assault and misconduct incidents, moving from five categories to reporting across all categories in the RALIANCE taxonomy for incidents between 2017 and 2022, the company says. It has also said its next transparency report will cover 2023 through 2025 using that same full taxonomy. The Cut reported that Lyft's U.S. safety disclosures showed around 6,800 passengers reported being sexually assaulted between 2017 and 2022, while Lyft itself has said the most serious safety incidents reported between January 2020 and December 2022 occurred in just 0.0002% of rides.
Not an Isolated Case
Giangarra's lawsuit was described in 2020 reporting by The Independent as the latest in a string of similar lawsuits filed by women around the country alleging sexual assault by Lyft drivers. Missouri law, under Section 387.420 of the Missouri Revised Statutes, addresses registration, criminal background checks, and driver disqualifications for transportation network companies, though the publicly available text does not spell out the specific requirements companies must follow.
Advocacy Going Forward
Now an advocate for ride-booking safety, Giangarra encourages users to take advantage of every safety feature available on these platforms. She recommends that travelers riding alone stay on the phone with a friend throughout the trip.
She also offered guidance for other survivors. Giangarra said she respects victims who choose not to go public with their experiences, while urging those who do decide to speak out to first line up supportive friends, family, lawyers, and an advocacy organization before doing so.
