May 02, 2016
Car AccidentsIn the early morning hours of Nov. 1, 2014, just after a Halloween party ended, a couple ordered a Lyft ride to get home. It was a stormy night, and after they got into the Lyft, they were soon on a freeway. During their trip, the Lyft driver swerved out of the way of a stopped vehicle, but the sudden movement caused the driver to lose control of his vehicle and collide with two trees. One of the male passengers, only 24 years old, was killed in the resulting crash, and the man he was dating suffered injuries in the wreck too, requiring him to stay in the intensive care unit for three days.
As it turns out the driver of the Lyft ride was traveling 75 miles per hour at the time, didn’t have proof of insurance and the swerving move he made was unsafe.
Despite all of this, Lyft refused to take responsibility for the crash, and now the 24-year-old’s mother and his boyfriend are taking Lyft to court. Originally the boyfriend filed a personal injury lawsuit and the mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit. They have since been condensed into one wrongful death lawsuit.
Though originally filed back in July, the case has taken some time due to Lyft’s tactics. It will be interesting to see how this case impacts ride-sharing companies and their insurance, as Uber and Lyft have come under legal fire in recent years as their popularity has skyrocketed in San Francisco (and, really, all across the country).
Source: CBS Bay Area, “Lyft Sued Over 2014 Crash That Killed Passenger,” April 19, 2016
