Andres Berreondo did what tens of thousands of us do daily, he ordered a car on a ride share app and waited for the driver. Today, his experience is one that will have many in our community thinking twice about ordering a ride.
This time, he wasn't sure if he would make it out of his Lyft ride alive. His trip from his Miami apartment this afternoon to a friend's office, transporting two large boxes causing him to sit in the front passenger seat, was one he was not expecting
"I can tell he was with an attitude, and even from the beginning with this bad energy," he said.
Here is Miami's NBC6 coverage and interview with Berreondo.
How do you react when the driver is not using the GPS? I usually do strike up a conversation to see what they are thinking and why they are not using the directions provided.
He then pulled out a gun and told Berreondo, "I want to kill everyone that is gay."
I am not sure I would have been as calm as Berreondo was for a full 10 minutes, but the driver did have a gun.
"I start getting scared and somehow he stops," he said. "He pulled me out like that and kicked me in the leg, I get out of the car.”
"The safety of our community is Lyft’s top priority, and the behavior described here is unacceptable. There is no place in the Lyft community for discrimination or violence of any kind. As soon as we were made aware of this incident, we permanently deactivated the driver. We have been in contact with the passenger to offer our full support, and stand ready to assist law enforcement with any investigation." – Lyft to NBC6
Do you fear riding in a ride share / Lyft / Uber?
Do you take certain precautions while in a ride share vehicle?
Do you worry that the driver may be homophobic?
h/t: NBC6