Lyft Received Nearly 100 Complaints Of Sexual Assault By Drivers In Just One State Over Two Years

The lawsuit claims that Lyft received nearly 100 complaints of sexual assault in California in just two years.

Amber Jamieson
BuzzFeed News Reporter
Last updated on September 4, 2019, at 5:42 p.m. ET

Posted on September 4, 2019, at 5:29 p.m. ET

Fourteen women who said they were raped or sexually assaulted by Lyft drivers have filed a lawsuit against the ride-hail company, arguing that the app enables drivers to assault passengers.

The lawsuit cites 14 attacks against Lyft passengers between 2018 and 2019. In one attack in Alabama, a blind woman’s cane was stolen by her Lyft driver, who then allegedly raped her.

In six of the incidents, the women had fallen asleep in the car and awoke to the Lyft driver sexually assaulting them, the lawsuit states. In another instance, the Lyft driver pretended to help a stumbling passenger who’d been drinking walk to their door, before allegedly raping them inside their home.

“Lyft knew from the outset that sexual assault was going to be a problem, especially because they have vulnerable passengers who have been drinking,” said the lead plaintiff’s attorney Stephen Estey.

In a statement, Lyft’s head of trust and safety said what the women describe in the lawsuit “is terrifying and has no place in the Lyft community.”

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