A routine early morning Lyft run on Milwaukee’s northwest side erupted into a terrifying ordeal Saturday when a driver says she was pulled from her car at gunpoint near North 41st Street and West Hampton Avenue. Candice Kozinski told reporters the ride request appeared in her app as a female passenger, but when she arrived, four men climbed into her vehicle, ordered her to stop, forced her out, and took off in her car. She was later found safe but badly shaken, and police recovered the vehicle that night as part of an active investigation.
Driver Recalls Gun, Struggle And A Hard Landing
Kozinski told WISN 12 News that one of the men pressed “a gun in my ribs” while she was behind the wheel. She said she instinctively tried to grab the weapon before being shoved to the pavement. According to her account, detectives later located the car and dusted it for fingerprints as they canvassed the area for leads. She added that the encounter rattled her so deeply she does not plan to keep driving for the platform.
A Pattern Drivers Know Too Well
Rideshare drivers in Milwaukee have seen versions of this story before. Local coverage has pointed to a 2022 case in which prosecutors said a teenager carjacked a Lyft vehicle, then led officers on a high speed chase that was livestreamed, according to FOX6 Milwaukee. Incidents like these continue to fuel debate over how drivers can safely verify riders and what more companies and police can realistically do to dial down late night risks.
Police Numbers And Company Rules
Data from the Milwaukee Police Department, as reported by WISN 12 News, show roughly 40 carjackings so far this year, a drop of about 44% compared with the same point last year. That decrease has not done much to calm nerves among drivers who work overnight or in quieter stretches of the city.
Lyft’s safety guidance tells both drivers and riders to report any weapons or dangerous behavior through the app and notes a strict “No Weapons” policy on the platform. The company also highlights in app safety tools and a 24/7 safety team for serious incidents, according to Lyft…