Police in Texas recently arrested a Lyft driver while he was in the process of transporting a passenger. The driver was charged with a DWI after apparently failing a field sobriety test. Although at this stage he is simply accused of driving under the influence and has not been found guilty, his connection with the driving service Lyft was severed.
It is not clear where the Lyft driver’s passenger was heading, although he did disclose that he had sold his vehicle and regularly used Lyft as a means to travel to and from work. The passenger was under the impression that his driver might have simply been inattentive when he began to drift out of his lane. Later, he reported that the driver hit the brakes at a green light.
An officer initiated a traffic stop shortly after the braking incident. When the driver went to retrieve his proof of insurance, the passenger claimed that he could smell some type of alcohol on him. The attending officer then administered a field sobriety test, and although there was no official disclosure as to how he performed, his passenger did not think that it went well. The driver was arrested shortly afterward.
The Lyft driver was previously charged with a DWI in 2004, but those charges were later dropped. From the length of time that a license is suspended to fines and jail time, the impact of a conviction on a person’s life can be serious and long-lasting. In order to minimize the possible impact, most defendants in Texas are well advised to begin criminal defense preparations in as timely a manner as possible.
Source: khou.com, “Lyft driver arrested for DWI with passenger in vehicle”, Ashley Goudeau, March 15, 2016
