Colorado state rep sues Lyft over alleged sexual assault by a person impersonating licensed driver

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Colorado state rep sues Lyft over alleged sexual assault by a person impersonating licensed driver


Colorado Rep. Jenny Willford has filed a lawsuit towards the ride-share app Lyft over an alleged sexual assault throughout a visit with a person impersonating an authorized driver final February.

Willford alleged within the go well with that she was “subjected to unwelcome, nonconsensual sexual contact, touching, and (lewd) feedback” throughout a trip to her Adams County house on Feb. 24, 2024. The advances have been apparently so egregious that Willford exited the automotive early and walked to a location apart from her house so the motive force wouldn’t know the place she lived.

Colorado Consultant Jenny Willford is suing Lyft for an alleged sexual assault in February 2024. JennyforColorado.com

Lyft information confirmed that her driver was presupposed to be somebody named Shanu. As a substitute, an unvetted driver who didn’t match the profile’s description confirmed up, in keeping with the go well with.

The particular person had been utilizing the Shanu account on behalf of Shanu Transportation, a registered transportation firm that’s solely accredited to maneuver property, Colorado Newsline reported.

“Shanu allowed their drivers to make use of this account to choose up supplemental enterprise, with out going by way of the same old driver qualification and profile course of required by Colorado regulation to make use of a Lyft driver account,” the lawsuit reads.

A driver who didn’t match the profile picked up Willford. AP

Sometimes, a driver must bear a background verify and driving historical past evaluate earlier than they are often licensed by Lyft. Account and password sharing is prohibited by the rideshare firm.

Kholmurod Halimov, the Shanu Transportation proprietor named within the lawsuit, instructed Colorado Newsline that he let a pal use the Shanu Lyft account. He surmised that the person who drove Willford was a pal’s brother.

Halimov asserted that an account-sharing ban isn’t listed in Lyft’s contract. The closest permissible characteristic is Lyft Household, which permits one account to be shared between as much as 5 individuals, however this selection is for riders solely — not drivers.

The Lyft account was registered beneath a transportation firm solely vetted to maneuver property. Christopher Sadowski

The Shanu driver profile hadn’t been utilized by Halimov since earlier than February 2024, he instructed the outlet. He claimed that the one that allegedly made sexual advances to Willford was the one different particular person to make use of his account and that it was solely meant to be a one-time factor.

Regardless of being named within the lawsuit, Halimov reportedly had no thought what had occurred when he was initially contacted by Colorado Newsline.

The lawsuit hinges on the pervasiveness of phony profiles on Lyft and its shoddy public security historical past. Lyft simply settled one other lawsuit over sexual assaults by its drivers in July.

In 2021, Lyft launched a report detailing its intercourse assault information throughout three years that confirmed a staggering 360 rapes alone. In whole, there have been 4,100 studies of sexual assault and 10 deaths between 2017 and 2019.

In December 2019 alone, greater than 30 girls sued Lyft in two separate lawsuits alleging sexual assaults by drivers and a “sexual assault predator disaster.”

If in case you have been sexually assaulted and reside in New York, you may name 1-800-942-6906 without cost and confidential disaster counseling. In case you reside outdoors the state, you may dial the 24/7 Nationwide Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.


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