DEWEY BEACH, Del. - A Lyft driver who kicked a group of friends out of her car in July 2022 has been indicted by a grand jury for criminal negligent homicide. Co-founder at Kline & Specter Shanin Specter confirmed the news to CoastTV on Thursday.
Laquise Leon is facing one count of criminal negligent homicide for causing the death of Sidney Wolf of Clarksburg, Md. on July 24, 2022. The second count in the indictment is for stopping her car in the road and obstructing traffic.
Court documents filed in August 2023 allege that driver Leon had a child in the trunk of the SUV when she kicked Wolf and his friends out of the car into oncoming traffic on a dark stretch of Coastal Highway. Leon allegedly stopped in the left lane and forced passengers to get out of the car, denying their requests to be dropped off in a safer spot. Wolf was struck and killed by another car. He was 43-years-old and a former staffer for the previous New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Specter previously told CoastTV that the passengers couldn't exit the vehicle from the driver's side rear door because that door was not operative, forcing them to leave the car into a lane of traffic.
According to Lyft's website, criminal background checks are required for drivers and vehicles must have 5 to 8 seatbelts and 4 doors.