A former Lyft driver attempted to sexually assault a woman in Austin, Texas after picking her up downtown on West 6th Street. According to police reports, forty-six-year-old Daniel Kifle is a former Lyft driver that continued to pose as a Lyft driver and who victimized at least four women and attempted to sexually assault at least two of them.
The ride-hailing service Lyft is being sued by the woman identified in court documents as Jane Doe after the former Lyft driver was charged with attempting to sexually assault her this past summer. Jane Doe said she was assaulted after she was dropped off at her home in June when Kifle “…also got out of the car, stuck his hands down Plaintiff Doe’s pants…”
Jane Doe’s lawsuit names Lyft and Kifle as defendants with allegations that Kifle “had a history of sexual misconduct with ride-for-hire passengers going back to at least 2013.” At this time, Kifle is being held in the Travis County Jail on three counts of kidnapping, two counts of attempted sexual assault, and one count of robbery-all crimes that authorities say he committed while posing as a Lyft driver. The lawsuit alleges that Lyft should be held partially responsible because Lyft did not take the proper safety measures to prevent this.
There is no publicly available data for the number of sexual assaults by Uber drivers, Lyft drivers, or other ride-hailing service companies. Unfortunately, sexual assault incidents continue to occur to passengers using ride-hailing service companies. These companies need to ensure passenger safety is their top priority by implementing reasonable measures and systems regarding hiring, training, supervision, and retention.
If you or someone you know has been victimized by a ride-hailing service or a driver, contact an experienced attorney at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner by calling (713) 222-7211 or toll free at 713-222-7211.