A woman driving for a ride-share company lost her BMW on Sunday night after a passenger forced her from the vehicle at gunpoint, police said.
The Lyft driver told authorities she picked up two men on Baker Street in downtown Atlanta, steps from the Georgia Aquarium. At some point during the requested four-mile ride into Mechanicsville, one of the men pulled out what appeared to be a gun, according to Atlanta police.
The woman met with officers at about 11 p.m. at the corner of Central and Dodd avenues to report the theft of her 2015 BMW 328i. She was not injured, police said in a statement.
It was not clear if police had identified the two men. The carjacking remains under investigation, and no arrests were announced Monday.
“Safety is fundamental to Lyft, and the incident described is horrific,” a spokesperson for the ride-share company said in a statement. “We have reached out to the driver to offer support and stand ready to assist law enforcement with any investigation. These crimes are absolutely unacceptable and we’re committed to doing what we can to keep drivers safe.”
The spokesperson said Lyft closely reviews incidents of crime and works proactively to identify and take action against rider accounts it believes exhibit fraudulent or unsafe behavior. An analysis of crimes committed while using the app showed most users paid for the service with an anonymous payment method, such as a prepaid card or mobile payment service like Venmo, according to Lyft.
In certain markets, Lyft requires an additional form of identification from riders using those payment methods. There are also a number of safety features, including remote security monitoring and silent escalation provided by ADT.
The company said in incidents like Sundays, they immediately reach out to the driver to offer meaningful support and maintain contact to connect them with victims’ advocates where possible.
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