May 22, 2022
NEW YORK CITY—A Lyft driver was viciously bitten on the arm by an irate passenger after he tried to call 911. Police refused to pursue the case until a local news outlet decided to get involved.
Nadeem Mahmood, the Lyft driver, told NBC4: “I picked up this ride two blocks away, and then [she] wanted to make a stop. So, at the stop, she got really violent, she started cursing me and I ended up canceling the ride.
“She wouldn’t leave, so while I was on the phone getting help with 911, she tried to snatch my phone.”
The incident happened on May 7, 2022, on Parsons Blvd in Queens.
When Mahmood tried to stop the passenger, he was bitten on the right arm. The bite mark grew in size for over two weeks.
“I still feel the pain, I feel there is a little lump there, the swelling was quite a bit, and I took painkillers for two weeks,” Mahmood continued to explain to NBC4.
Mahmood ended up ditching the car. At the same time, a Lyft camera showed the irate passenger calling her boyfriend on the phone for help and admitting she wanted to steal the car before disconnecting the camera.
“People are a lot more aggressive and there are physical attacks, verbal attacks,” Mahmood stated to NBC4.
Two weeks after the attack, Mahmood was told by the NYPD the case had been closed. When NBC4 obtained a copy of the police report, they also found no canvas had been conducted by responding officers.
“NYPD has refused to pursue the case,” Mahmood continued.
However, when Mahmood called the NYPD and stated NBC4 would also be involved in the matter, detectives “amended” the report and reopened the case. As a result, detectives have now been assigned to the case and have physically met with Mahmood for an interview.
Screenshots via NBC4