Ryan James Davey, 30, of Cary, was arrested Wednesday and charged with felony kidnapping, driving while impaired, sexual battery, indecent exposure, having an open container, and resisting a public officer.
According to the Raleigh Police Department, Davey drove for Lyft. An arrest warrant alleges he kidnapped a rider on Tuesday and then sexually assaulted the victim. The warrant accuses Davey of grabbing the rider's face and forcing the victim to kiss him against her will.
Investigators say Davey also exposed himself to the rider inside his black Kia while driving along Rock Quarry Road in Raleigh. He is additionally accused of drinking alcohol while behind the wheel.
ABC11 spoke with the victim, who asked not to be identified. She said she uses Lyft often, and had just gotten off work and was going to get food for her children.
Cary Lyft driver charged with kidnapping, sexual battery
"He yanked me to start kissing me, kissing my beck so that made me mad, so I started pushing him," she said. "That made him mad. He hit the gas and went over the speed bump and went to the Southgate store."
The driver allegedly offered the victim money to not tell what happened -- all while he was allegedly driving drunk.
The victim recorded video as Raleigh Police arrested Davey.
Download the ABC11 News app
"I'm traumatized. I ain't sleep all night," she said.
When officers confronted him, the warrant states Davey refused to provide his driver's license and was openly uncooperative.
At a court appearance on Wednesday, Davey was ordered held without bond thanks to Iryna's Law.
ABC11 is tracking crime and safety across Cary, Raleigh and in your neighborhood
"What he's charged with is that he sexually assaulted the victim. So that would fall under the violent offense definition," said Patrick McCrary of the Wake County District Attorney's Office. "And under Iryna's Law, and the presumption would need to be rebutted that he's not a danger to the public."
Under Iryna's Law, which was passed in November, Davey is to be held without bond until he can prove he is not a threat to the public. He is due back in court April 22.
In a statement to ABC11, Lyft said in part, "The behavior described is appalling and will not be tolerated. As soon as we learned of these allegations, we contacted the rider to offer support and permanently removed the driver from the Lyft platform."
The incident is raising safety concerns for people who use ride shares.
It's also raising questions about his background. Davey had a previous DWI case in 2015 and another case from 2022. But it turns out that case was dropped.
Lyft does conduct criminal background checks, but they only go back 7 years. So that case wouldn't have shown up. But Lyft's scores alone aren't enough to make them immune from responsibility.
"Certainly, as a rider, you have a right to trust what Lyft is telling you," said Stuart Paynter, a lawyer. "But you know, that score is developed by Lyft internally. And, you know, there's a lot of factors that go into that, into that score. And so as a consumer, you're not really going to know, you're not going to be able to see."
Paynter said riders in that situation could have a potential civil case.
"So the standard is whether they knew or they should have known that this driver was going to be unsafe, and a potential predator," he said.
For tips to stay safe, make sure you check that the license plate matches. Lyft also has a check-in PIN option and an option for female passengers to be paired with female drivers.