Fernando Macias Morales Lyft driver denies molesting ‘sleeping’ female passenger during her drive home after she passed out drunk after being picking up from Santa Monica restaurant. App driver faces 32 years to life if convicted.
A Lyft driver is accused of sexually assaulting a female passenger who had dozed off during her ride home, California officials said.
Fernando Macias Morales, 34, is alleged to have picked up the un-named passenger outside a West Hollywood restaurant in September, after she’d booked a ride home.
The woman who was ‘drunk’ fell asleep during the ride, only to wake up and ‘catch’ the app driver molesting her, according to cops.
‘Safety is fundamental to Lyft’
Morales allegedly offered to walk her to her door, which she refused — and realized she had been passed out for several hours after she got home.
Santa Monica police launched an investigation into the woman’s claims and finally arrested Morales on Saturday — with prosecutors charging the man on Wednesday.
Morales was booked with kidnapping to commit a sexual act, sexual penetration of a person intoxicated and oral copulation. The man remained in custody on $500K bond.
‘We entrust rideshare drivers with our safety, relying on their professionalism and integrity to provide safe transportation,’ Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon said in a statement Wednesday.
‘Safety is fundamental to Lyft. The behavior described is reprehensible and has no place in the Lyft community or anywhere in society,’ a Lyft spokesperson told McClatchy News. ‘Upon learning of this incident, we permanently banned the driver from the Lyft platform, contacted the rider to offer support, and assisted law enforcement with their investigation.’
Morales pleaded not guilty, according to an April 10 news release from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
If convicted, Morales faces a maximum sentence of 32 years to life in prison, prosecutors said.
