A Cincinnati woman said she needed to call Kentucky authorities after the driver of a Lyft ride she ordered took her into Kentucky, on the way to an unknown place.
In a series of social media posts, Bri Ledsome detailed the Lyft ride she ordered near her Cincinnati apartment on Wednesday.
Ledsome told the Herald-Leader in messages that her ride began at 10:09 p.m and departed from a public space near her apartment. Ledsome said she was headed to see family in Ohio.
Ledsome said the Lyft driver immediately drove into Kentucky. Ledsome said the driver laughed when she told him he was driving the wrong way.
Ledsome told the Herald-Leader she saw two switch blades and pepper spray in the vehicle.
Ledsome shared her location with other people and said she contacted 911 via the ADT function within the Lyft app. She also called 911 herself from inside the vehicle.
Ledsome said she noticed the Lyft driver had two different GPS locations: one for the intended destination of the ride, and the other for another location, which Ledsome said was seven hours away.
The Maysville Police Department framed the incident as a possible attempt by the driver to make more money.
They said in a statement Friday that they were contacted at 11:05 p.m. about a passenger in a Lyft who was feeling unsafe and was riding in a gray van on Ky. 9.
An officer spotted the van and stopped it because it was speeding, police said.
Police said the driver told them he was headed to “somewhere in Ohio” with the passenger.
“He showed me the GPS and the address that was in the GPS. It did show the correct address she was going to according to Ledsome,” police said in the statement.
They said the driver told them “he did not know what was wrong as he was just following the GPS.”
“When asked if he was taking a longer route to the destination for more money,” police said the driver “began to act like he did not understand what I was saying. It appears that during the interview he was attempting another route to possibly make more money to which he denied during the investigation.”
Police said Ledsome told them that on previous trips, she was taken on Interstate 70 “through Ohio straight to her destination.”
“Ledsome advised that she began to feel unsafe and even scared when she realized that she was in Kentucky and going a different way than she knew. She advised that she did not tell the driver that she wanted out, instead hit the panic button on her Lyft app,” the statement said.
Ledsome saidpolice officers spoke to both her and the driver, asked to see identification for both of them and allowed Ledsome to charge a cell phone inside one of the police cars while they determined what happened. Ledsome said there were four police officers at the scene.
Ledsome told the Herald-Leader the police officers at the scene tried to determine if the Lyft driver intentionally drove away from the intended location.
Police said Ledsome told them “she was going to file a complaint with Lyft in reference to this driver and his possible attempt to make additional money.” They said in the statement that they concluded their investigation and talked to the driver “about the situation,” and then sent him ”on his way back to Cincinnati.”
Ledsome said the traffic stop occurred more than 65 miles from her home, and that she was further away from her intended destination than when the Lyft trip began.
Following the traffic stop, Ledsome said a police officer drove the two to a nearby field, where they waited for the Lyft driver to stop at a gas station and leave Mason County.
Ledsome said the officer she was with dropped her off at that same gas station and told the gas station attendant that she was able to stay there until a friend arrived to pick her up.
Police confirmed in their statement that a deputy took Ledsome to a gas station to wait for her friend.
Ledsome said she waited alone for an hour at the gas station before her friend arrived.
“I was not asked how I preferred to be left,” Ledsome told the Herald-Leader, adding that she hasn’t yet pressed charges. “I am weighing my options and focusing on rest.”
“Trust your gut,” Ledsome added. “If something feels off, it probably is. Educate yourself, stay vigilant. It can save your life.”