News

Lyft driver arrested for assaulting and threatening two passengers

BOSTON — According to police reports, a Lyft driver assaulted and threatened two passengers with a metal pipe after one of them had forgotten her phone in the car and asked him to come back and return it.

The woman and her boyfriend were dropped off by their Lyft ride in the North End just before 1 a.m. on Sunday when she realized she had forgotten her phone in the car.

Her boyfriend then called the driver asking if he could come back to return the phone in exchange for some money. However, when the driver returned, he demanded more money from the couple and started fighting with them.

After some arguing, the Lyft driver went back to his car to grab a metal pipe, and then grabbed one of the victims by the neck as he threatened them with the pipe.

thankfully, her boyfriend was able to break her from the driver's grasp and call the police.

"That's outrageous, like I can't imagine what was going through the driver's head," said Dylan Cavaliere, an Uber driver. "I would just return it, just to be nice, I wouldn't really ask for money but that's nice they offered."

Boston 25 News has reached out to Lyft but has not received a response yet. However, a spokesperson tells us she's looking into this incident.

Most Lyft users we spoke to say this assault is surprising, but it most likely won't keep them from using the ride sharing service again.

"We've had wonderful experiences, we've met wonderful drivers, I think that's a freak accident," said one Lyft user.

As for the Lyft driver, Jesse Colon, he's being charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

Colon told officers the couple jumped him and he used the metal pipe as self defense, but officers saw the red marks on the victim's neck and a witness confirmed their story.