The American Tabatha Means filed a complaint on January 9 in a Californian court against the VTC company Lyft, of which she accuses one of the drivers of having raped her in 2019, reports CNN.
Following this rape, the young woman became pregnant and gave birth to a child after 33 weeks of pregnancy.
She is today asking American justice to prosecute the company on which the driver of the vehicle belonged.
The facts occurred on April 28, 2019, details the complaint filed with the courts by the plaintiff's lawyers.
Tabatha Means was intoxicated and therefore requested a VTC ride to return home via the Lyft application.
The driver then picked her up from the requested location and had her sit in the passenger seat.
“During the race, it was evident that the plaintiff was intoxicated, her speech was slurred,” the complaint states.
A rape at the victim's home
According to Tabatha Means, the man then began to compliment her on her appearance, before telling her that she should not be out at such a late hour, or that he did not understand that a woman so sexy be alone.
Upon arrival at their destination, the Lyft driver parked and attempted to kiss the plaintiff, before offering to drive her home due to her intoxicated state.
Despite her refusal, the man followed her and then attacked her at her home.
She claims that he told her at that moment: “Everything will be fine, it will be over before you know it.”
» The driver then forced her to perform fellatio, before pushing her onto a bed and raping her again.
The victim repeatedly expressed her refusal and cried throughout the incident, the complaint points out.
He then allegedly told her that he wanted to “start again,” and forced her to have another sexual encounter under duress.
At first, Tabatha Means did not file a complaint and did not speak about this rape, for fear of not being believed.
It was a month after the events that she discovered her pregnancy and revealed her attack to her sister.
She had to carry a difficult pregnancy to term, which resulted in the birth of a boy.
She obtained a DNA test from Florida social services in charge of alimony.
It was 99.99% confirmed that the Lyft driver was the father of the child.
The company clears itself of the accusations
Lyft responded to CNN about these accusations, indicating that the ride took place “outside” the driver’s pick-up hours.
The company also claims that it only became aware of the facts a year later.
She also adds that there would have been “several hours” between the race and the alleged facts.
The American VTC company also insisted that the safety of its customers was “fundamental” and that “the behavior reported had no place in our society”.
“Lyft has worked to design policies and features that protect both drivers and passengers, and we are always working to make Lyft an even safer platform,” the company concluded in a statement.
However, it was singled out in 2021 after revealing that “a little over 4,000 sexual assaults” had been “reported on its application between 2017 and 2019”.