A woman is suing Lyft alleging that she was kidnapped by a driver at gunpoint and raped by 2 other men but the company let him continue driving under another name
- Lyft is battling yet another lawsuit from a passenger who says the ride-hailing company enabled sexual predators.
- New York resident Alison Turkos alleged in a lawsuit filed in a San Francisco court on Tuesday that she was abducted at gunpoint by her Lyft driver in 2017, and then raped by two other men. Her suit alleges that Lyft allowed the driver to continue driving under a different name even after police made the firm aware of an investigation.
- This latest suit comes after 14 victims sued Lyft, alleging that the firm had failed to address "a sexual predator crisis" with its service.
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Lyft has been hit with yet another lawsuit claiming it allows sexual predators to roam on its platform.
New York resident Alison Turkos has alleged in a new suit that in 2017 she was abducted by her Lyft driver at gunpoint and taken over state lines. She alleges that she was then raped by two other men, who cheered and high-fived each other before she was taken back into the city.
We first saw the news via Vice. You can read the lawsuit here.
Turkos alleges that she spent the following day traumatized and confused. She knew something was wrong as she was in so much pain she couldn't leave her bed or raise her arms, and was experiencing vaginal bleeding. She started to piece together what happened after she saw that her Lyft ride home, which should have taken 15 minutes, had taken 79 minutes. Vice reported that the trip had cost her $106.80.
Turkos got in touch with the company but only received an automated response apologising for the inconvenience and giving her a partial refund of $93.99. She subsequently went to the police and obtained a rape kit.
Emails viewed by Vice also showed that Lyft promised to "unpair" her from the driver, and its explanation for the length of the trip was: "The driver might have forgot to end the ride." In a subsequent response a Lyft representative told Turkos that poor internet connection, an old phone, or faulty software could have been the cause.
Turkos filed the lawsuit against Lyft on Tuesday, claiming the firm is failing in its duty to keep sexual predators off the platform.
"Lyft's response to this sexual predator crisis amongst Lyft drivers has been appallingly inadequate," the lawsuit states. This language closely echoes a suit filed by 14 anonymous female Lyft passengers earlier this month. Following this flurry of accusations, Lyft brought in safety features including a 911 panic button in its app.
In the lawsuit Turkos also alleges that Lyft allowed her attacker to continue driving after the police began investigating her complaint, just under a different name.
"After Plaintiff reported this driver to Lyft and law enforcement contacted Lyft about this driver in relation to an investigation of Plaintiff's allegations of kidnapping, human trafficking and rape, Lyft continued to allow this driver to continue driving for Lyft under a different name, endangering the safety of countless unsuspecting passengers," the suit alleges.
Lyft was not immediately available for comment when contacted by Business Insider, but a Lyft spokesperson told Vice the driver in question had passed the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission's background check.