A Lyft driver forced a passenger out of her car on the side of a Nashville highway after attempting to throw his phone out of the vehicle. The passenger recorded the bizarre encounter and posted it to TikTok. Strangely enough, the ride started normally, though the passenger noted that he’d noticed his driver was a bit odd when she pulled up with a stick of incense burning in the car.
A Simple Trip Home Turns Into A Nightmare
Aaron Swetland was just trying to make his way home from Nashville International Airport, but he quickly realized that the ride home would turn into an ordeal of its own. Swetland ordered Lyft and was soon picked by a woman not identified. Swetland noticed immediately that the woman was lighting incense. He ignored it.
As the two travelled down the highway, Swetland’s ears began bothering him due to the open windows in the backseat. “So I attempt to raise the window on the door and she has it locked out,” Swetland recalled. As a former ride-share driver himself, he couldn’t help but find it weird. “The first tip that something is kind of whack for me was like ‘wait, you’ve taken control away from me to be able to do that?’ That seemed kind of odd.”
He asked the driver to open the window. Lyft COVID-19 protocol requires that windows be open. Lyft’s website does recommend keeping windows open “when possible.” Swetland changed tactics and asked the driver to reduce her speed to lessen the pressure on his ears. This request was also denied. When the situation became more serious, Swetland grabbed his phone and started recording.
The driver’s voice is raised as the video picks up. She appears to take a swipe at Swetland’s phone as she pulls the car off the highway. Swetland thought the move was an attempt to steal Swetland’s phone and throw the device out the window. This didn’t help to lessen the tensions between the two one bit. “When she tried to grab for my phone and throw it out of the vehicle that was a scary moment because I’m like – had she succeeded, I lost my only way to communicate,” He explained.
The Video Is Unbelievable, Watch Below
After the driver pulled over on the side of the highway, she went to the trunk and removed Swetland’s luggage. The passenger was again anxious. “When she yanked my bag out of the vehicle and then returned to the trunk I had a brief moment of ‘well does she have a weapon?’” He said. Luckily, the confrontation didn’t go that far, though Swetland was left on the side of the highway by the driver, who the video shows weren’t wearing shoes.
Read Lyft’s Statement About The Incident
Lyft released a statement in response to the incident. “Safety is fundamental to Lyft, and the incident shown in the video is concerning,” According to the ride-share company, “We have reached out to the rider to offer our support and have suspended the driver’s account pending a complete investigation.” Hopefully, the driver learns how to deescalate situations like this before she’s allowed to drive for the company again.