Mom alleges teen daughter was victim of attempted kidnapping in Lyft
A Utah mother is speaking out about her daughter's alleged attempted kidnapping by a Lyft driver.
Karina Ramirez told "Good Morning America," in a segment airing Friday, that she called a Lyft for her 15-year-old daughter Katelyn on Saturday, Feb. 7, to take her to an appointment, before receiving a chilling phone call moments later.
"She's like, 'Mom, did you just cancel the Lyft?' And I was like, 'No, I didn't,'" Ramirez recalled, adding that her daughter said the driver had told her Ramirez had canceled the ride.
"I was like, 'Katelyn, he just canceled the ride. He did it,'" she recounted.
Ramirez said the driver then offered to drive Katelyn to the intended location anyway, according to her daughter.
Ramirez said she was using a location-sharing service connected to her daughter's phone and saw it was moving in the wrong direction.
"I can hear it in her voice that it changed ... she went, 'Mommy, he's not listening to me. Mommy, he's not stopping the car,'" she recalled.
Ramirez said it was then that she directed her daughter to get out of the car and run. Surveillance camera footage captured the moment Katelyn sprinted to safety.
In a statement to ABC News, a Lyft spokesperson said, "The horrifying incident is reprehensible and has no place in the Lyft community or society."
The spokesperson added that the company has since "removed the driver from the Lyft platform" and is "ready to assist law enforcement with any investigation."
Ramirez said she is grateful her daughter was able to "[take] control of the situation" in the moment.
"To me, she's just a brave teenager," she said.
The alleged incident happened less than 48 hours before Lyft's announcement on Monday about a new service called "Lyft Teen," which allows kids ages 13 to 17 to request rides that their parents can monitor in the app.
Lyft says the new service is safe for teens.
"Your teen rides with drivers who meet our highest standards on our platform: annual background checks, proven safe driving records, positive passenger feedback, and experience on the road," the company said in a press release, adding that parents "can request rides for your teen or let them request their own."
"Either way, you maintain full visibility. No surprises, knowing that their safety is prioritized," the company said.
The West Jordan Police Department told ABC News it's too early to know whether or not the driver will face charges in the incident. Police said they are not identifying the driver at this point.
