Bloomfield Man Attacked Lyft Driver With Screwdriver: Police

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — A Bloomfield man is accused of attacking a Lyft driver and a passenger with a screwdriver during a trip to Rahway, authorities said Wednesday.

The victims – a 20-year-old female passenger and the 47-year-old male driver – were found in Clark after the attempted carjacking, police said.

According to the Clark Police Department, the Lyft driver picked up Farrakhan S. Howard, 27, and the female victim in Bloomfield, with a final destination in Rahway. While passing through the town of Clark, Howard allegedly started to attack both victims with a screwdriver.

Howard then took off in the stolen car, eventually crashing on the Garden State Parkway in Woodbridge where he was taken into custody, authorities said.

Clark police officers found the injured driver around 1 a.m. on Wednesday, lying in the middle of Westfield Avenue and bleeding from stab wounds and lacerations to his face, head and neck. Officers also found the female victim with stab wounds and lacerations to her face and head, authorities said.

Emergency responders transported both victims to University Hospital in serious condition, police stated.

Authorities charged Howard with 1st degree carjacking, 2nd degree robbery, two counts of 2nd degree aggravated assault, 3rd degree possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes and 4th degree possession of a weapon. He was also charged with receiving stolen property, obstruction and narcotics possession in Woodbridge, and is currently remanded to the Middlesex County Jail where he will be held pending a bail hearing, police said.

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