The family of Justin Michael Lavelle has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Lyft, Inc. and Lyft driver Tariq Rasheed, arising out of the incident. Lavelle, 23, was struck and killed by a car after Rasheed ejected him from the vehicle on the side of the 110 Freeway just west of downtown Los Angeles. Lavelle had been pepper sprayed by Rasheed and forced out of the vehicle just after midnight.
John and Amy Lavelle, Justin Lavelle’s parents, issued a joint statement about the lawsuit: “This lawsuit has been brought to ensure that Justin’s life was not taken in vain. We are seeking to improve safety in the ride sharing industry and to hold the responsible parties accountable.”
Rasheed has claimed that Lavelle was drunk and kept grabbing the steering wheel, putting them in danger. Rasheed said he stopped the car and ordered Lavelle out near the freeway’s Slauson Avenue exit.
The Lavelle family is represented by Catherine Six and Joshua Coe of East Coast Trial Lawyers, in Virginia Beach, Vir., and Conal Doyle of Doyle Law APC in Beverly Hills.
I don’t care how bad a passenger he was you don’t throw people out on the freeway. Take nearest off ramp and tell him to get out and call the police if he doesn’t. Camera’s should be made mandatory for all ride services. I know that the cabs have them.
This is a sad situation for both the deceased and the driver. If someone were grabbing the wheel while I was driving I think I might have done the same thing. I hope there was a camera for the sake of all involved.
I’ve heard stories of people getting booted out of their ride sharing cars late at night in dangerous neighborhoods because they told the driver to take a shortcut. These drivers can be evil and put passengers in serious danger. Hopefully this lawsuit will set a precedent for enforcement of some sort of safety regulations. It’s unfortunate these regulations are at the expense of this young man’s life.
The entire industry needs to be overhauled for public safety.
There should be cameras in every car with audio.
The cars should not be allowed to stop in traffic lanes
West Hollywood can’t even get the scooters off the sidewalks so I don’t see them doing anything to improve Uber type businesses to protect the public
This didn’t occur in West Hollywood, so not sure what your point was, other than to be snarky.
The ride originated in West Hollywood, I believe, so his comments are still valid. I don’t think this should be a City issue; it should be a State one. I’m not sure if the State has jurisdiction over ride share companies, but if so, cameras would be a very good idea. One would think the ride share companies would see it to be in their best interest to include them in all of their vehicles. It isn’t like this technology costs that much, at this point.
NO, it says the man who died lives in West Hollywood. The incident was downtown.