A Texas Lyft driver who claims a passenger attacked him, choking him with his seat belt, while driving to a destination has filed a lawsuit against Lyft and the hospital where the passenger was transported.
The driver, Kehinde Ayoola, said an employee from Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston requested a ride in February and he escorted the passenger to his car.
“He pulled my seatbelt and put it around my neck and choked me. He was trying to kill me,” Ayoola said. Fox 26.
Passenger Ramiro Vera Charged with aggravated assault in connection with the attack.
Texas Lyft driver claims passenger choked him with his seat belt: 'He was trying to kill me'
A Lyft driver who claims a passenger strangled him with his seat belt has filed a lawsuit against Lyft and the hospital where the passenger was taken. (Getty)
Since the incident, Ayoola has described the impact the violent attack has had on her, saying she now fears she will become the victim of another attack.
“Anytime someone tries to walk past me, like I'm sitting here right now, I'm so scared. I see it all the time. Every single day,” he said, adding that the scene plays over and over in his head.
He said he hadn't picked up passengers since the incident out of fear. He had been a ride-share driver for seven years.
“I'm scared all the time, even with my grandson sitting in the back of the car I'm scared,” Ayoola said.
Ayoola said when he arrived at the hospital to pick up Bella, he saw a man standing with three hospital staff members who was fidgety and behaving strangely.
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Passenger Ramiro Vera was charged with aggravated assault in connection with the attack. (Getty)
“When I picked up the passenger in February, I spoke with the staff at Memorial Hermann Hospital,” he recalled. “I asked, 'Hey, what's going on? Is this guy OK?' They told me, 'Yeah, he's OK.' I also asked security and he said, 'Yes, he's OK.'”
Once inside, Vera began talking to himself, then hit himself in the chest and, at one point, slid from the back seat into the seat behind Ayoola. Ayoola said the passenger then grabbed Ayoola's seat belt and wrapped it around the driver's neck.
Ayoola tried to get his fingers between his neck and the seat belt but was unable to release it, so Vera used his arm to strangle him.
The driver parked the car on the side of the road and Vera kicked the back window, causing it to pop out of the frame, before creating a dent in the back of the car and opening the trunk, Ayoola said.
Investigators said Vera then ran to a home and tried to enter while yelling. The homeowner called 911 and Vera was arrested.
Ayoola said he has not carried passengers since the incident for fear of new attacks. (Photo illustration: Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket)
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“Ayoola was an innocent, hard-working man simply attempting to complete a lift trip as instructed, supervised and summoned by Memorial Hermann Hospital, and he ended up being attacked,” his lawyer, Osayuki Ogbeidet, told Fox 26.
“He expressed his concerns to staff at Memorial Hermann Hospital, who reassured him that Ramiro Vera was OK,” Ogbeide added.
Ogbeide said Ayoola has “suffered a very special loss — not just in lost wages and lost medical expenses, but her whole life has been turned upside down.”
Bella's next court appearance is scheduled for September 25th.
