Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
- A woman shared her sexual assault experience to raise awareness about a potential risk she said can be posed by rideshare services.
- Salt Lake County filed charges against three rideshare drivers for sexual abuse.
- Rideshare companies emphasize safety features and urge passengers to stay vigilant.
COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — A survivor of sexual assault said she was assaulted just feet from her house by the man hired to drive her home.
The woman, who KSL-TV is not identifying, shared her story Tuesday in hopes of raising awareness about a potential risk she said can be posed by rideshare services.
"This (was) all happening right here in my driveway," the woman said. "This home is my safe place and they took that safety away from me in that moment."
The woman said she used Lyft to return from a concert on April 19.
"As we were getting off the exit to my house, I leaned my head against the glass," she said. "(We) got to the driveway. The driver assumed I was asleep and proceeded to recline the front seat and tried to put his hand down my pants."
When the woman began to struggle, she said the driver locked her door.
"I was able to fend him off of me long enough to find the lock and get out," the woman said.
The driver, identified as 36-year-old Abdoulaye Ali, was charged on Nov. 26 with second-degree felony forcible sexual abuse, according to court documents.
This sexual assault is one of three cases in which Salt Lake County prosecutors recently filed sexual abuse charges against rideshare drivers.
"Bad people are going to do bad things, and so you just need to be mindful and never let your guard down," said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill.
Gill did not address the individual cases. He said that while rideshare services are generally safe, passengers should be cautious.
"This is not an indictment of rideshares," he said. "I think it's about situationally being aware that when you get into a car, sometimes you are in a vulnerable state."
Bad people are going to do bad things, and so you just need to be mindful and never let your guard down.
–Sim Gill, Salt Lake County district attorney
Gill advised passengers to be vigilant and aware of their surroundings, travel in pairs whenever possible, have their phones' GPS turned on, and ensure the car and driver picking them up matched the descriptions in the rideshare apps.
The woman from the Cottonwood Heights case said she had two friends wait with her for her ride and made sure the driver's picture matched.
She said she also always calls her husband at the start of a rideshare to let the driver know she's expected home and keeps her purse on her in case she needs to make a quick escape.
She urged passengers to recognize that a child safety lock on a rideshare car could pose an added safety hazard during one of these encounters.
Though the woman believed she had generally done everything right in her case, she still found herself in a situation she is still trying to heal from and process.
"I'm really fortunate," she acknowledged. "I am a civilian, but I work with a law enforcement agency, so I have resources available to me."
According to the latest data sets provided by rideshare service Lyft, sexual assaults happen on a scale of 1 in every 480,000 and 1 in every 700,000 rides, respectively.
You have to keep moving forward, and I don't want to limit my life because this experience happened.
–Sexual assault victim
Still, they do happen—with more than 3,600 cases logged between the two services in their most recent reports.
"Safety is fundamental to Lyft and the behavior described in these incidents has no place in our community," a Lyft spokesperson wrote in a statement provided to KSL. "At Lyft, we're working to build safety into every part of the experience—before, during and after the ride."
According to the statement, Lyft employs a safety team that is available to drivers and riders. The company conducts background checks and screenings for every driver before they are approved on the platform and "continuously" thereafter.
"Lyft has also built a range of features designed to give our community peace of mind, including Emergency Help with ADT, Smart Trip Check-In, and sharing your location with trusted contacts," the statement read.
Uber also responded with a statement about an Aug. 17 case charged by the Salt Lake County District Attorney.
"We take reports of this nature extremely seriously, and this behavior has no place on the Uber platform," the statement read. "Once we were made aware of the incident, we immediately banned the driver. Additionally, our dedicated team supported the West Valley City Police Department with their investigation."
Uber said it offers safety features, including an "Emergency Button, GPS tracking on every trip and RideCheck, and we are constantly piloting new features all over the world."
"Our commitment to safety innovation never stops and we will continue to strive to make the platform safer," the statement read.
After what happened in her driveway, the woman said she has continued to employ rideshare drivers as part of her recovery and healing.
"It's a long road," she said. "Bad things happen and you have to keep moving forward and I don't want to limit my life because this experience happened."
If you have experienced sexual violence, you can access help and resources by calling Utah's 24-hour Sexual Violence Help Line at 1-801-736-4356 (English) or 1-801-924-0860 (Spanish). You can also call the Rape Recovery Center office line during office hours at 801-467-7282 or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 for free, confidential counseling.
