Lyft Driver Rapes, Impregnates FL Woman In Her Home: Lawsuit

FLORIDA — A woman, reportedly from Leesburg, is suing Lyft after she says a ride-share driver she met through the Lyft app followed her into her home before repeatedly violently raping and impregnating her on April 28, 2019.

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court Northern District of California by Tabatha Means, who is seeking punitive damages and a jury trial.

Means claimed the unidentified Lyft driver repeatedly assaulted her in her home, and about a month later, she learned she was pregnant.

Through an administrative order, Means was a granted a DNA test after her son's birth and learned there was a 99.9 percent chance of the driver being the baby's father, she claimed in the lawsuit.

"Her assault by the Lyft driver forever changed Plaintiff’s life, the lives of her children and their future prospects. ... By failing to take reasonable steps to confront the problem of multiple rapes and sexual assaults of Lyft passengers by Lyft drivers, Lyft has acted in conscious disregard of the

safety of its passengers, including Plaintiff, has breached its duty of reasonable care and has
breached the implied and express covenants arising from its contract with its passengers," read the lawsuit.

News Channel 8 secured a statement from Lyft, which claims the reported assault happened during an individually arranged trip and not through its platform.

“Safety is fundamental to Lyft and the behavior described has no place in our society. The alleged incident from 2019 did not take place on the Lyft platform while using the Lyft app, but rather involved a separate trip arranged between the individuals involved," Lyft said in the statement to News Channel 8.

"Lyft has worked to design policies and features that protect both drivers and riders, and we are always working to make Lyft and even safer platform. Lyft has a dedicated, around-the-clock safety response team, a partnership with ADT to aid in emergencies and works with leading national organizations to inform our safety policies.”

Lyft claims the accused driver has not been employed with the company for years and said the suspected assault occurred hours after the initial ride, News Channel 8 reported.

The company told News Channel 8 that a police report nor a Lyft safety report have been filed.