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Lyft Driver Says She Was Attacked by Passenger in San Jose

A Lyft driver is speaking out after she said that a passenger sexually assaulted her as they were driving on a San Jose freeway late Monday night.

The incident happened on southbound Interstate 280 in San Jose.

Zelia Silva said that she was working for Lyft and added the man that attacked her was a customer.

The car’s dashcam video recorded Silva screaming. At one point in the video, a voice can be heard saying “You’re not going to die.”

The dashcam footage also caught Silva running into freeway traffic, pleading for help after she was able to pull over and escape.

“Please help me, please help me,” she said.

Silva told NBC Bay Area that she was driving 70 miles an hour, when she suddenly felt the man’s arms wrapped around her.

“He immobilized me,” she said.

Silva added that she remembers the man pinning her so hard against her seat that she was holding the steering wheel with her fingertips, all while trying to park the car and kick the door open to escape.

Silva said she has bruises and marks around her chest and wrist.

Silva said another driver who picked her up saved her life. She believes the passenger wanted to kill her.

After safely getting into another car on the freeway, the suspect can be heard in the video yelling and then, the car was once again on the move.

The man in the video was seen exiting on the freeway on 10th Street, ignored several red lights and swerved through city streets until crashing into a light pole.

In a statement, Lyft said it’s offering support to the driver and permanently removing the rider account from the Lyft community.

But Silva said more needs to be done. She wants cameras inside of her car and also demands female drivers have the choice of only picking up female passengers.

Silva is also asking Lyft to prohibit riders from requesting pickups for others, which is what she said happened during her incident.

Police said the suspect is still on the run as of Wednesday night.

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Source: NBC Bay Area

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