Indian Student Stranded In US After Lyft Driver Escapes With Luggage

An Indian student studying in the United States faced a distressing situation when a Lyft driver abandoned her on the way to the airport in Boston, taking all of her belongings with him.

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What happened?

Shreya Verma, a student at Harvard University Graduate School of Design and resident of Cambridge, Massachusetts, shared the harrowing experience on social media. She recounted how her trip with Lyft had just started but realised she had forgotten her headphones and went back home to retrieve them. Then, the driver abruptly cancelled the ride.

To her shock, the driver left with all her luggage, leaving her stranded on the road as she was en route to Logan International Airport for a flight to India.

This sudden cancellation of the ride meant that the student was left without access to the vehicle information and wasn't able to immediately track down her belongings.

She took to LinkedIn

Shreya shared her nightmarish situation on LinkedIn. She even shared screenshots of the conversations she had with Lyft customer service.

"Yesterday, at 6 PM, I booked a ride to Boston airport. Shockingly, after loading my luggage, the driver abruptly canceled, leaving with all my belongings, including my passport, VISA, OPT/EAD Card, and vital document, electronics, resulting in a devastating loss of $30,000," Shreya wrote, adding, "I have been actively seeking assistance from Lyft customer service, but unfortunately, crucial driver details remain elusive, compounding the challenges I am already facing".

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Further, the student revealed that despite active engagement with the Cambridge Police Department and The Corporation of the City of Cambridge, lack of pertinent information is hindering progress.

"The mandated legal procedures, involving subpoenas, court orders, and search warrants, are proving to be time-consuming and emotionally taxing," she added. Shreya shared her experience almost a week back, and since it has gone viral online.

Lyft's CEO's response

It prompted the official LinkedIn profile of Lyft to respond to the post. "Hi Shreya, thank you for ongoing support as we work to resolve this. We're in contact with the driver and working swiftly to get this solved," the company commented.

Lyft CEO David Risher also reacted to Shreya's unfortunate incident. "Very sorry you're going through this, Shreya. That's absolutely awful. Our team is on it," Risher said. This unfortunate incident, however, has prevented Shreya from reuniting with her family in India, especially at a time when her father is battling cancer. While the cops are still probing the incident, she is yet to receive some good news on the matter.