SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — A metro Atlanta mother and father think a Lyft driver should face charges after she left them on the side of the road and took their 7-year-old son home.
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The parents told Channel 2′s Tom Jones that she refused to answer their calls and they didn’t know where she was taking him.
Jeremiah Richardson and Timeshia Dixon said they were stranded with a flat tire on I-285 in Sandy Springs late Monday night when they called tow truck and a Lyft driver to take them home. They put their 7-year-old son, Jaxon, into the car and then went to retrieve items from their disabled car.
That’s when they say the Lyft driver took off.
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“I didn’t think I was going to see my child again,” Dixon said.
Richardson said he didn’t understand how it could happen.
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“I mean, it was the worst thing ever,” Richardson said. “As soon as I turn around to get more items, it’s like she just speeds off.”
Jaxon said he was scared and didn’t know what was going on.
Dixon was also getting things out of the car and realized they Lyft driver left with her child.
“All I could see was her license plate just fading into the night,” Dixon said.
Dixon said they called the Lyft driver repeatedly but got no answer. So they called 911.
Meanwhile, the tow truck driver gave Richardson and Dixon a ride home.
That’s where Cobb County police found the driver and Jaxon. Officers said they driver told them she knew someone got in her car, but didn’t know it was a child.
Jaxon said that can’t be true, because she talked to him.
“She said, ‘Do you want a blanket,’” he said.
Cobb police said the incident was unintentional, so they didn’t file any charges.
Dixon said she doesn’t believe it was a mistake.
“Maybe her driving off was the mistake, but when she didn’t answer that phone and she kept driving, that went beyond a mistake,” Dixon said.
Jaxon’s parents want the driver charged.
Lyft said it investigated and found there was no intent to harm.
Sandy Springs police are also investigating.
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