EspañolLyft Driver Fredi Rojas Held on $1 Million Bail Following Arrest For Alleged Sexual Assault
SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA (May 13, 2023) – A Lyft driver identified as Fredi Rojas was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl in Santa Ana.
Orange County prosecutors are saying that the assault took place in April. A15-year-old girl flagged down Fredi Rojas in order to get help charging her phone.
The defendant then stopped and forced the girl into her car. He then drove her to a parking lot before sexually assaulting her.
After the assault took place, Fredi Rojas drove the minor to another place in Santa Ana and dropped her off. He was in a white Nissan Rogue at the time of the assault.
Investigators suspect that their may be other victims. If you have more information or would like to leave an anonymous tip, you can contact Orange County Crime Stoppers.
Liability For Santa Ana Lyft or Uber Sexual Assaults
As Lyft and Uber have continued to grow over the year so to have the number of sexual assaults including rideshare drivers. According to one report from National Public Radio, “Lyft Inc. said the number of sexual-assault reports collected on its app rose from 1,096 in 2017 to 1,255 in 2018 and 1,807 in 2019 as its business grew. The company said that from 2017 to 2019, more than 99% of rides occurred without any reported safety-related incident.” Lyft is facing dozens of different lawsuits by people who said that they were sexually assaulted by Lyft drivers. There are a number of factors that have contributed to rideshare sexual assaults.
- No Monitoring: For the most part, rideshare drivers are alone with their customers for the entire duration of the ride. This has left women, young girls and the disabled particularly vulnerable.
- Inadequate Vetting: Lyft and Uber are supposed to properly vet all of their prospective drivers. But many of these background checks are woefully inadequate. They have often failed to identify people with felony records. In one instance a known terrorist was able to become an Uber driver.
- Aggressive Expansion: Both Uber and Lyft have been aggressively expanding for many years. When companies grow this quickly, it is common for safety to become compromised in numerous areas.
Lyft and Uber can be held liable if their passengers are sexually assaulted during or after their trips. Rideshare companies have a legal responsibility to provide a reasonably safe environment for passengers. This includes taking steps to screen out drivers that could foreseeably put passengers at risk. When a company like Lyft or Uber fails to thoroughly vet drivers who then go on to assault passengers, this could form the basis of a negligence claim. Whether or not any claim against Lyft or Uber will be successful ultimately depends on the foreseeability of the harm. There are a number of steps that should be taken after any instance of sexual assault in a Lyft vehicle.
- A police report of the incident should be created.
- Eye witnesses should be interviewed.
- Medical records should be preserved.
- An experienced Lyft sexual assault lawyer should be contacted.
It can be hard to know where to begin after any instance of sexual assault. These events can be extremely damaging for children who are often left permanently psychologically harmed. Any person that is the victim of sexual assault at the hands of a Lyft or Uber driver may be able to seek some measure of justice through a civil claim. Sadly, though, rideshare companies will often do everything in their power to deny liability for any instance of sexual assault. This is why it is so important that all evidence is preserved after any incident.
Investigating Instances of Sexual Assault By Lyft and Uber Drivers
We at Carrillo Law Firm, LLP extend our best wishes to the victim of sexual assault by this Lyft driver. Any person that may have more information about the actions of Fredi Rojas should reach out to Crime Stoppers. It is our sincere hope that Lyft and Uber both take measures to make their rides safer.
Have you or someone that you care about been the victim of sexual assault by a Lyft or Uber driver? There are a number of laws designed to protect your rights. Our team of highly experienced Lyft sexual assault attorneys are here for you. We care deeply that abuse victims are aware of their rights and that those rights are being protected. Whether you just have legal questions or need any type of support we may be able to help. You can reach out to us anytime at 626-799-9375. Se habla español.
