There are two sides to every story.
Jose Gonzalez has his version of events: Upon leaving Miami gay club Twist at approximately half past 4 a.m., he ordered himself a Lyft home, choosing the less pricey carpool option that pairs you with other passengers traveling in a similar direction.
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His ride showed up with two female passengers already in the back seat, and he hopped in the front.
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Soon after, one of the women in the back–24-year-old makeup artist Sherry Shelsey Moody–began to throw a violent fit–kicking, scratching, and screaming “you f—— gays!” She removed her stiletto and swung it at Gonzalez, making a direct hit to the center of his forehead and leaving a trail of blood down his face.
The driver pulled over, removed the women from the car, and drove Gonzalez to his home in North Miami Beach where he sought medical help and called the police to file a report.
So–two sides to every story, right?
There must be some kind of explanation that makes this horror show, if not make sense, feel at all grounded in actual human behavior.
Well, here’s the only glimpse we have of Moody’s state of mind, via the Miami Herald:
In the arrest affidavit, police say Moody, who lives in Southwest Miami-Dade, was intoxicated and became angry when the unidentified Lyft driver refused to take her through a drive-through for food.
“Why? I cannot understand why. I’m still, like, in shock. I can’t believe it,” Gonzales questioned shortly after the Jan. 26 incident in an interview with local news network WPLG.
He may never find his answer, as Moody is refusing to give a statement to police.
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She was arrested and taken to Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where bond was set at $5,000.
And in another twist, Gonzales is now suing Lyft.
“The fact of the matter is, the person got out of the vehicle, the driver did not look or think of letting the police know the direction they were heading, did not call police,” said attorney Reynaldo Martinez to WSVN. “In fact, just continued to take Jose home. It wasn’t until he got home that his roommate called the police.”
In a statement, Lyft said:
“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 immediately deactivated the individual accused of this behavior.”
“It’s about Jose, it’s about protecting the LGBTQ community, but it’s about protecting everybody who gets inside one of those vehicles,” Martinez added about the suit.
Is it really though?
ChrisK
Oh lord. So you’re too cheap to pay for a ride for yourself and now you’re suing Lyft for not chasing down the insane bitch for you. At 4:30 everyone should understand that it’s mostly crazy bitches up at that time of night anyways. The driver kicked her out and got you home safe and sound. Would be good enough for me. What stopped you from dialing 911? They’re free after all.
A money hungry queen and her ambulance chasing dog.. I mean lawyer.
Juanjo
Interesting issue. Under the law, a common carrier such as a taxi cab co, limo company, etc has a duty to its customers. It will be interesting to see how the courts rule on whether Lyft and its drivers are covered or not by these laws. So Chris, the simple answer is that Lyft probably should have some procedures in place as to how to handle these situations. It seems to me as an attorney that the proper procedure is not to simply kick out one person and take the other one home but rather to immediately contact the police and summon them to your location.
There have been cases regarding the liability of Lyft and Uber previously but usually involving the criminal acts of the passengers towards the driver or vice versa.
JaredMacBride
If he wants to sue the crazy Moody person I’m all for it. But suing Lyft is an unjustified money grab.
Juanjo
Suing Lyft might be justified or might not. The issue with Lyft and Uber is that they are providing services like a common carrier such as a taxi or limo service but doing so using independent contractors as drivers. There is a duty that the company makes sure the person is trans[rted in a safe vehicle etc. There have been issues with assaults by drivers on customers, including rapes and at least one murder. I do not know if anything final has happened in this area as the services are very new.
The issue for Lyft would be in part what sorts fo procedures it has in place for situations like accidents, assaults in the vehicle etc. If you are in a taxi, limo, bus etc and there is an accident or another act such as an assault by one rider on another the vehicle driver is supposed to immediately notify the police and the carrier. It is unclear if he did that at all or if he was required to do so. It appears he separated the passengers, ejecting the one who did the assault and driving the other one home.
Paco
He would probably have to make a claim with the driver’s insurance company since he was injured in the vehicle. Maybe?
chris33133
I hope Gonzalez wasn’t seriously hurt. And I hope that he is also suing the woman who hit him.
GC1985
I think it’s best to pay more for your own ride… don’t ride share. Ever.
By the way, lyft could be held liable because the driver failed to protect their customers. The customer paid for the service expecting a certain level of safety and service. This wasn’t offered.
The person who did the assault needs to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and possibly sued for any medical and emotional damages.