Pregnant Lyft driver stabbed to death by passenger, police say

[TronRP]

Pregnant Lyft driver stabbed to death by passenger, police say

 

Janelle Griffith  10 hrs ago

Original story >>https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/pregnant-lyft-driver-stabbed-to-death-by-passenger-police-say/ar-BBSSlhB?srcref=rss&ocid=OLCONUA

 

A pregnant Lyft driver was stabbed to death over the weekend in Arizona by a passenger, police said Monday.

 

Kristina Howato, 39, was in her third trimester of pregnancy and working for Lyft when she dropped off the suspect, Fabian Durazo, at an apartment complex early Sunday morning, police in Tempe said in a statement.

 

Durazo, 20, attacked Howato with a knife while she was inside the car and continued the attack after she exited her sport utility vehicle, police said. Durazo eventually left the scene in Howato's vehicle, Tempe Police Sgt. Ron Elcock said.

 

Police responded to a call about a stabbing at around 1:15 a.m. Sunday and arrived at the scene to find Howato with multiple stab wounds, Elcock said.

 

She was taken to a hospital where she and her unborn baby were pronounced dead.

 

Her vehicle was equipped with GPS technology, which police said helped in locating the suspect. He was arrested on Interstate 10 in Quartzsite, Arizona.

 

Police said when interviewed, the suspect admitted to stabbing Howato and taking her vehicle.

 

"Throughout our careers as officers, we have incidents that really, really touch our hearts and stay with you throughout your careers," Elcock said at a news conference Monday. "This is definitely one of those incidents that really is going to affect the police department for a long time, and the community will think about this for a long time."

 

Durazo faces charges of two counts of first-degree murder, one count of theft of means of transportation, one count of armed robbery and one count of kidnapping. Authorities said he was booked in La Paz County Jail but will be transported to Maricopa County Jail.

 

A spokeswoman for Lyft told NBC News in a statement Monday the company is assisting law enforcement with its investigation.

 

"We were shocked and deeply saddened to learn of this tragedy, and our thoughts are with the family and friends of the victims," the spokeswoman said. "The safety of the Lyft community is our top priority."

[TronRP]

This is why I worry so much for all you drivers out there.  Be it UBER, Lyft, Doordash, GrubHub, Medical Courier...it makes no difference.  In some cases, people don't care about your safety, only what they can get from you and that can come in the form of a ride, a delivery, a robbery, a theft or your life.

 

Please be careful and stay safe out there...

[sekhmet2002]

Thanks for this, Tron. It can be a little scary when driving but I've only had a handful of incidents that were bad thankfully. The last incident was pretty bad and I almost stopped driving but I need the money, so I look at the odds. I've driven for almost 4 years and nothing bad has happened through almost all of the rides. The odds are with me so I force myself to keep going until I can get into something to make money on the side in a different manner.