DETROIT (WXYZ) — Detroit police are investigating a series of carjackings in which rideshare drivers have been the target.
Investigators say they have very good leads on the suspects. Police released surveillance footage of a person of interest in relation to one of those crimes. They say he attempted to use a credit card that was stolen from one of the victims.
One carjacking happened on Feb. 4 at Dexter Avenue and Davison Avenue. Another incident happened on Feb. 10 near Linwood Avenue and Davison Avenue. A third incident happened on Sunday near Dexter and Davison.
Investigators say in each case, there are anywhere from two to five suspects, both males and females. In two of the incidents, police said a suspect attempted to strangle the drivers and then demanded their vehicles. Those vehicles were later recovered. In the third incident, police said the driver fought off the suspects who then fled on foot.
Rideshare driver Lakisha Houston told 7 Action News, “It’s not worth it, and I got five kids I got to go home to.”
She said she’s been driving for Uber and Lyft for six years, but she said now, she sticks to airport customers and drives to a few suburbs to avoid these types of incidents.
“It’s terrible. That’s why we got dashcam. That’s why we don’t pick up in the city. We may drop off. As soon as we drop off, we turn that app off," Houston explained.
Commander Eric Decker with the Detroit Police Department said, "These individuals out there, it’s their own community that they’re hurting.”
He said perpetrators are spoiling ride-sharing for the vast majority of law-abiding Detroiters who rely on the service.
“We’re dealing with this all the time. Our carjacking is way up. People are sticking guns in people’s faces, taking their cars," Decker explained.
Police honed in on the fact the person of interest had on a multi-colored Jordan backpack. They need the public’s help getting this criminal element off of the streets.
“It’s good to do rideshare, but you just got to be cautious. All money isn’t good money. Every ride isn’t a good ride. Just got to watch your surroundings,” Houston said.
Lyft says it offers support to drivers when these incidents happen, are in close contact with law enforcement and has several safety features to help protect drivers.
Lyft released the following statement:
“Safety is fundamental to Lyft. We continuously invest in new products and policies to help protect drivers, and are exploring ways to expand the use of our safety features to help prevent these incidents from happening and support drivers if they do."
Anyone with information is asked to call Detroit police at 313-596-5200 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.
