WILMINGTON, Del. - Over a year after a man died when a Lyft driver kicked passengers out of her car on Route 1, a lawsuit has been filed against Lyft, Inc. and the driver in question.
According to a statement from Kline & Specter, the law firm representing the family of victim Sidney Wolf, Lyft failed to conduct a proper background check on the driver, failed to adopt or enforce rules and policies on appropriate and safe operation of Lyft-used vehicles and did not ensure the driver was fit. The lawsuit also notes that the car was carrying more passengers than it had seatbelts and that it also had an unusable passenger door on the rear driver's side.
"It's only after we learn all of the relevant facts that we're willing to sit down and talk to Lyft about resolution and that resolution needs to include more than just money-changing hands," says Specter & Kline co-founding partner Shanin Specter. "It also needs to include systemic reform of Lyft, so this kind of thing does not happen again."
The firm says the driver of the vehicle, Laquise Leon, "became irate" when Wolf and his friends discovered a 5-year-old child in the SUV's trunk. The passengers began asking the child questions before the driver "became so infuriated" that she allegedly began cursing at the passengers and did not stop in the grassy median, but in the left lane without hazard lights.
After being ordered out of the car on southbound Route 1 between Dewey and Bethany, Wolf stepped into the road and was hit by a car. He was pronounced dead shortly before 2 a.m. on July 24, 2022, which lawyers say was about 30 minutes after he had gotten into the Lyft.
"What occurred here was a deadly disgrace, which we intend to set right," said the lawyers representing Wolf's wife, Lindsey. The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages.
Specter says he thinks the driver should be held accountable civilly through the lawsuit and criminally through the justice system.
Charges were originally not filed, as Delaware State Police were investigating. Police said at the time that Leon was cooperative. CoastTV reached out to Delaware State Police Monday night. The agency says its investigation has concluded and the Office of the Attorney General will decide if the driver will be charged or not.