HENRY COUNTY, Ga. — A Lyft driver says a man shot at her after she and the man got into an argument about canceling a ride.
The driver said she had a scheduled pickup July 19 at 7 a.m. in Ellenwood.
She said when she arrived, she waited for the person to come out.
A while later, “He comes out with a gun and started shooting. He fired off at least five shots,” the driver, who asked not to be identified, said.
The shooting was a result of the trip being canceled.
“He’s a big guy. He just came out with an attitude and said, 'You need to cancel the ride." I said, 'You can cancel the ride,'” the driver told Channel 2’s Nefertiti Jaquez.
The heated argument unfolded last Wednesday outside a home along Creek Cove.
A screen grab from the driver’s phone shows the Lyft driver arrived at 7 a.m. She was scheduled to pick up a woman named Celeste.
But seconds after she arrived, the driver told Jaquez, a man came outside the home and told her that her services were no longer needed.
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“When you schedule a ride, it costs a little bit more. So you have to pay more if you cancel it, and he didn’t want to pay for that,” the driver told Jaquez.
The 46-year-old driver admits she demanded he cancel the ride because it would be the only way she would get paid the cancellation fee.
But instead, she said, he threatened her.
“He said, ‘I got you. I‘ll get you.’ Goes back inside and comes back out with a gun. I immediately drove off. I was scared to death,” the driver said.
She called 911 and, within minutes, Henry County police officers arrived at the home.
Jaquez went to the man’s home to get his side of the story. But his relatives told her he was out of town.
Jaquez obtained a police report from the incident. It said the homeowner told police he felt threatened. He also admitted to firing one round into the ground with the intentions of getting the Lyft driver to leave his property.
“Even if you were trying to scare me, why would you do that?” the driver said.
Detectives are now investigating the incident.
The alleged victim said that she’s scared but, as a widowed mother of three, she has no choice but to continue driving.
“This is the only way make money. This is my means of living. So this is what I have to do,” the driver said.
Lyft sent a statement to Jaquez about the incident, saying:
"This is an incredibly concerning incident and we are thankful that no one was injured. As soon as we were made aware of these allegations, we deactivated the passenger from the Lyft platform and reached out to the driver. We are ready to assist law enforcement in the investigation."
Cox Media Group
