Lyft bans passenger seen in racist rant against his driver, rideshare company says

A passenger who was seen on video hurling racist slurs at a Lyft driver in Washington has been fired from his job and banned by Lyft, the companies said.

David Kangogo, 30, the driver, told Newsweek that he was driving a couple in Issaquah on Tuesday and noticed that the man took off his mask.

“So I said, ‘Sir, could you kindly put your mask on,’” he said, according the publication. “He ignored me the first time, I repeated [it] and told him he’s putting me at risk and all the other passengers I pick up after him.”

Kangago said the man began calling him a racial slur.

“He said, ‘Oh, shut up n*****, you don’t know s***,” he said. “So I just pulled over and got out of the car and told them I have canceled the ride, they can go ahead and get another driver.”

Kangogo told Komo News that he pulled the car over and ended the ride. The man continues using racist insults, and the woman in the video is heard saying, “We expected a Lyft ride home. That’s what we expected.”

Kangogo told the couple, “Just put on your mask.”

The man threatened to urinate in Kangogo’s car.

“Thank you so much. Have a good night,” Kangogo said to the couple before the video ends.

Kangago then got in his car and drove off, according to the station.

Lyft confirmed to The New York Post that the male passenger has been permanently banned from the app.

“There is no place for discrimination of any sort in the Lyft community, and this behavior is absolutely unacceptable,” the statement reads. “We have permanently removed the rider from the Lyft community and have been in touch with the driver to offer our support.”

The man’s employer Wilbur-Ellis also posted on Twitter on Thursday saying that he has been terminated from his job, according to Komo News.

“Today we learned of a disturbing video that portrayed disgusting racist comments by one of our employees,” the post states. “His employment has been terminated effective immediately. Wilbur-Ellis stands against racism in all its forms.”

This story was originally published November 20, 2020 at 3:34 PM with the headline "Lyft bans passenger seen in racist rant against his driver, rideshare company says."