GILBERT, AZ — A man is facing charges for allegedly kidnapping and assaulting a rideshare driver in Gilbert on Wednesday.
According to court documents, the victim, a Lyft driver, picked up 18-year-old Derrick Caver and drove him to another location where Caver then told her to pull over.
When the vehicle stopped, Caver allegedly began strangling the driver from the back seat with one hand then pulled out a handgun with the other hand, and pointed it into the driver’s abdomen.
As the driver started to fight back, Caver exited the vehicle, hit the victim, grabbed her phone, and ran off, according to the report.
The struggle was seen by two witnesses driving behind the victim’s vehicle and also video surveillance from a nearby home. Caver was seen running to a home where he lives with his mother.
Inside the victim’s vehicle, Caver left a grocery bag with a Walmart receipt, an open box of condoms, and other unopened items.
The merchandise was discovered to have been purchased with a bank card belonging to a Derrick Caver.
Police were able to track down Caver by using surveillance video from Walmart, the witness and victim’s accounts, and other evidence.
A search warrant was issued at Caver’s residence and he was arrested.
Caver admitted to being in the Lyft vehicle but denied the assault. He claims the driver exited the vehicle and attempted to attack him with a box cutter.
The victim sustained bruising to her neck and chest area, along with scratch marks on her upper chest. She had difficulty swallowing and, during the incident, she was having difficulty breathing for about 30 seconds.
The victim reported it was several minutes that Caver was restraining her in the vehicle and ordered her to drive around the neighborhood, telling her she was going to die.
Caver is facing charges which include armed robbery with a deadly weapon and kidnapping.
Lyft sent the following statement about this incident:
"Safety is fundamental to Lyft, and the incident described is deeply disturbing. We have removed the rider from the Lyft community, reached out to the driver to offer support and are assisting law enforcement with their investigation."
