Lyft driver recounts terrifying drive that ended with her car being stolen

ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. — Charmell knew of the Christi Spicuzza murder, but never thought she’d be in a similar situation until Thursday as she navigated her final Lyft ride of the night.

“You don’t think something like that can happen to you until you are in the situation — but when you are in the situation, what do you do?” Charmell said.

Charmell told Channel 11 she picked up a Lyft rider named James on Gerritt Street in Homewood.

“He started caressing this side of my body and now I’m starting to get scared.”

His destination was the airport until he added another stop and told Charmell to just drive.

“This man is the back of me — yes, I’m starting to feel threatened. I don’t know what’s going on. He kept telling me ‘we are going to go to a dark place,’ and I’m thinking ‘we are going to get killed if we go to this dark place.’”

As she drove, she looked for a place to stop for help. That’s when she found an open Sunoco in East Pittsburgh and told her rider she was thirsty and went inside.

“I said ‘lock the door, call the police.’”

She had left her car key in her purse in the car, and as she waited for police, she said the rider took off with her vehicle. Police later found it not far from where she originally picked up James on Gerritt Street.

“However, I got out I’m glad when I did. Keys, ID, all that — I will replace that. But my life is not replaceable like keys and IDs.”

While state police are still investigating, Lyft said the rider’s account is removed.

“Safety is fundamental to Lyft, and the behavior described is appalling. We’ve reached out to the driver to offer our support and have permanently removed the rider account from the Lyft community. We stand ready to assist law enforcement with their investigation.” - Lyft Spokesperson

But Charmell said she’s done and will never drive for a ride share again. State Police said they are still looking for the rider.

Prosecutors seeking death penalty for man accused of murdering local Uber driver Christina Spicuzza

©2022 Cox Media Group