A Florida Woman Is Suing Lyft And The Reason Is Shocking
A Florida woman is suing Lyft and the reason is shocking. Tabatha Means who is from Leesburg says that she was repeatedly raped by a Lyft driver. Leesburg is about 2 hours from where I live in St. Petersburg. The story gets crazier, Means also got pregnant from the Lyft driver who she says sexually assaulted her.
A Florida Woman Is Suing Lyft
On April 28th of 2019, Means claims she requested a Lyft ride because she was intoxicated. When the driver picked her up he began to make her feel uncomfortable. He kept commenting on her looks and saying inappropriate things.
When they got to her house means says the Lyft driver pulled over in a parking spot and began to touch her. The lawsuit states that Means rejected it but the Lyft driver did not care. He allegedly followed her in to her house and forced her on a bed.
Means says that’s when the man repeatedly raped her. A month after the sexual assault incident, Means says she got pregnant. According to a DNA test, the Lyft driver is the father! Means is suing Lyft because she says they are responsible for any injuries it’s drivers cause to passengers.
Lyft Has Responded
According to News Channel 8, Lyft has denied the incident took place on one of their platforms. They say the incident happened on a separate trip which was arranged individually. Lyft released a statement saying: “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 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.”
Means did receive a ride from the Lyft driver but according to an investigation, the incident happened hours later. Lyft says, no safety report or customer service report was filled with the company.
Here Is The Most Dangerous City In Florida
5. Lake Worth
According to Property Club, Lake Worth is one of Florida’s worst cities for violent crime. The violent crime rate in Lake Worth is 996 per 100,000 residents. This rate is over 2.5 times higher than the national and state average. The crime rate has been dropping in Lake Worth over the years, but it is still a very dangerous place to live in Florida.
4. Florida City
Florida City is one of the car-jacking capitals in the United States. It has a population of 12,000 and is located in South Florida near the everglades and the Florida Keys. Residents in this city have a 1 in 38th chance of being a victim to a violent crime. Sadly Florida City has seen crime rates rise in the last several years.
3. Cocoa
Although Cocoa has a population of 19K, the violent crime rate is 1,108 per 100K residents. This rate is is 2.8 times higher than the national average and 3 times the state average. The most common crimes in this city are assaults and burglaries. If you are looking for a safe place to live, this is one place you should avoid.
(Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
2. Riviera Beach
Rivera Beach is the worst city to live in Florida when it comes to their murder rate. The murder rate in Rivera Beach is seven times higher than the national average. Most parts of Rivera Beach should be avoided for safety reasons.
1. Lake City
According to Property Club, Lake City is the most dangerous city in Florida. The violent crime rate in Lake City is 1,547 per 100,000 residents. This is one of the worst rates in the entire country. The cost of living in Lake City is low but it has very high poverty and crime rates. Your chance of being the victim of a violent crime in Lake City is almost 4 times higher than the state average.
