After a ride-share driver was caught on video throwing a woman out of his car, the Los Angeles Police Department said Wednesday that an arrest has been made.
The LAPD says the ride-share driver has been arrested on battery charges.
Alessandra Ward, the woman tossed from the vehicle, says a doctor told her she suffered a concussion in addition to her visible cuts and bruises--which include a black eye.
Ward she was relieved that the Lyft driver had been fired and that the LAPD had arrested him for battery.
On the video, Ward can be seen pulled from the vehicle, with other drivers pulling over to try to help her.
"He went insane or something," Ward said.
Ward said the driver got angry with her for playing music while she was in the back seat and that he was hostile from the moment he picked her up.
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"As soon as I got in the car, the guy was extremely rude and just unfriendly toward me," Ward said.
Lyft issued this statement Wednesday: "This video is horrifying, and we have permanently banned the driver from the Lyft community. We stand ready to assist the authorities and will continue to help in every way we can."
Security expert Louis Perry advised riders to first check their app to ensure the right driver and car is picking them up. Once in the car, Perry advised to be alert for red flags and strange behavior.
Perry said, "What you really need to know is learn the signs something is wrong here, something is not right here. 'I need to get out of the situation.'"
Lyft says it does criminal background checks on its drivers, but Perry said ride-share companies should take it a step further and check for anger management issues."
"LAPD does it," Perry said. "All the different agencies do it. They check with a person, the balance how quickly you lose your temper. They obviously need to do that with drivers."
Lyft also reminds riders that they can share the GPS tracking of their rides with family and friends and call 911 through the app.
