Topline: Three Cleveland-area rideshare shootings in about two months, including two deaths, have spotlighted how little protection drivers may have after violent attacks.
Published: April 23, 2026 12:00 pm ET
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CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cleveland police say there is no evidence linking three separate shootings involving Uber and Lyft drivers this year, but the incidents have still highlighted the risks rideshare drivers face while working alone, often at night and in unfamiliar neighborhoods.
In February, Lyft driver Antoine Latham, 56, was shot, crashed into a guardrail on Rosehill Avenue and later died at a hospital. Police said a 20-year-old suspect, who was also accused of stealing a phone, was indicted. Days later, 27-year-old Lyft driver Vasyl Shvets was fatally shot during a late-night shift and crashed into a dumpster on East 84th Street. Two teenagers, ages 17 and 18, were charged with murder. On April 7, an unnamed Uber driver was shot on East 147th Street, and police said an 18-year-old suspect stole the vehicle and was charged with felonious assault.
According to a report from Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer, there is little recourse for rideshare drivers who are attacked because they are generally classified as independent contractors rather than employees. Cleveland employment attorney Matthew Besser said drivers can buy their own elective workers’ compensation insurance, but without it they are unlikely to have any claim against Uber or Lyft if they are injured on the job.
Besser said families of drivers killed while working would face the same limitation unless a company knowingly allowed a dangerous rider with a history of threatening behavior to remain on the platform. Workplace rights lawyer Peter Mapley likewise said the main civil remedy would usually be a lawsuit against the assailant, but intentional torts are generally not covered by insurance, making recovery difficult even with a court judgment.
Cleveland police spokesman Sgt. Wilfredo Diaz said the three incidents, despite their severity, do not currently indicate an elevated risk that would warrant public alarm or a formal advisory. Case Western Reserve University violence prevention expert Daniel Flannery said rideshare drivers can be especially vulnerable because they travel alone, often at night, while dividing attention between navigation and passenger pickup locations. He also said the wide availability of firearms, including untraceable ghost guns, has increased the danger.
The report said federal officials do not have a comprehensive system for tracking attacks on rideshare drivers and passengers, making trend analysis difficult. Elizabeth Repko of the U.S. Government Accountability Office said incomplete data and underreporting make it hard to tell whether the problem is growing. A 2024 GAO report documented about 4,600 serious sexual assaults and 19 fatal assaults in 2019 using company safety reports, but those figures captured only the most severe incidents and did not distinguish between drivers and passengers.
Uber and Lyft both declined interview requests or offered limited statements. Uber said violent incidents on the platform are extremely rare and pointed to emergency assistance, rider verification, GPS tracking, trip recording and a 24/7 incident response team. Lyft said more than 99.9% of rides from January 2020 through December 2022 had no issues and highlighted safety tools including location sharing, emergency help through ADT, trip check-ins and a round-the-clock safety team. John Carroll University criminology professor Katie Knoll-Frey said companies still need stronger safeguards to prevent riders from using burner phones or fake accounts to request trips.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
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Three Cleveland Uber, Lyft Shootings Spotlight Safety Risks and Few Protections for Drivers
Three Cleveland-area rideshare shootings in about two months, including two deaths, have spotlighted how little protection drivers may have after violent attacks.
By Silvia Torres
Published: April 23, 2026 12:00 pm ET
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cleveland police say there is no evidence linking three separate shootings involving Uber and Lyft drivers this year, but the incidents have still highlighted the risks rideshare drivers face while working alone, often at night and in unfamiliar neighborhoods.
In February, Lyft driver Antoine Latham, 56, was shot, crashed into a guardrail on Rosehill Avenue and later died at a hospital. Police said a 20-year-old suspect, who was also accused of stealing a phone, was indicted. Days later, 27-year-old Lyft driver Vasyl Shvets was fatally shot during a late-night shift and crashed into a dumpster on East 84th Street. Two teenagers, ages 17 and 18, were charged with murder. On April 7, an unnamed Uber driver was shot on East 147th Street, and police said an 18-year-old suspect stole the vehicle and was charged with felonious assault.
According to a report from Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer, there is little recourse for rideshare drivers who are attacked because they are generally classified as independent contractors rather than employees. Cleveland employment attorney Matthew Besser said drivers can buy their own elective workers’ compensation insurance, but without it they are unlikely to have any claim against Uber or Lyft if they are injured on the job.
Besser said families of drivers killed while working would face the same limitation unless a company knowingly allowed a dangerous rider with a history of threatening behavior to remain on the platform. Workplace rights lawyer Peter Mapley likewise said the main civil remedy would usually be a lawsuit against the assailant, but intentional torts are generally not covered by insurance, making recovery difficult even with a court judgment.
Cleveland police spokesman Sgt. Wilfredo Diaz said the three incidents, despite their severity, do not currently indicate an elevated risk that would warrant public alarm or a formal advisory. Case Western Reserve University violence prevention expert Daniel Flannery said rideshare drivers can be especially vulnerable because they travel alone, often at night, while dividing attention between navigation and passenger pickup locations. He also said the wide availability of firearms, including untraceable ghost guns, has increased the danger.
The report said federal officials do not have a comprehensive system for tracking attacks on rideshare drivers and passengers, making trend analysis difficult. Elizabeth Repko of the U.S. Government Accountability Office said incomplete data and underreporting make it hard to tell whether the problem is growing. A 2024 GAO report documented about 4,600 serious sexual assaults and 19 fatal assaults in 2019 using company safety reports, but those figures captured only the most severe incidents and did not distinguish between drivers and passengers.
Uber and Lyft both declined interview requests or offered limited statements. Uber said violent incidents on the platform are extremely rare and pointed to emergency assistance, rider verification, GPS tracking, trip recording and a 24/7 incident response team. Lyft said more than 99.9% of rides from January 2020 through December 2022 had no issues and highlighted safety tools including location sharing, emergency help through ADT, trip check-ins and a round-the-clock safety team. John Carroll University criminology professor Katie Knoll-Frey said companies still need stronger safeguards to prevent riders from using burner phones or fake accounts to request trips.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
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Editor Picks
Latest Articles
Three Cleveland Uber, Lyft Shootings Spotlight Safety Risks and Few Protections for Drivers
Three Cleveland-area rideshare shootings in about two months, including two deaths, have spotlighted how little protection drivers may have after violent attacks.
By Silvia Torres
Published: April 23, 2026 12:00 pm ET
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cleveland police say there is no evidence linking three separate shootings involving Uber and Lyft drivers this year, but the incidents have still highlighted the risks rideshare drivers face while working alone, often at night and in unfamiliar neighborhoods.
In February, Lyft driver Antoine Latham, 56, was shot, crashed into a guardrail on Rosehill Avenue and later died at a hospital. Police said a 20-year-old suspect, who was also accused of stealing a phone, was indicted. Days later, 27-year-old Lyft driver Vasyl Shvets was fatally shot during a late-night shift and crashed into a dumpster on East 84th Street. Two teenagers, ages 17 and 18, were charged with murder. On April 7, an unnamed Uber driver was shot on East 147th Street, and police said an 18-year-old suspect stole the vehicle and was charged with felonious assault.
According to a report from Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer, there is little recourse for rideshare drivers who are attacked because they are generally classified as independent contractors rather than employees. Cleveland employment attorney Matthew Besser said drivers can buy their own elective workers’ compensation insurance, but without it they are unlikely to have any claim against Uber or Lyft if they are injured on the job.
Besser said families of drivers killed while working would face the same limitation unless a company knowingly allowed a dangerous rider with a history of threatening behavior to remain on the platform. Workplace rights lawyer Peter Mapley likewise said the main civil remedy would usually be a lawsuit against the assailant, but intentional torts are generally not covered by insurance, making recovery difficult even with a court judgment.
Cleveland police spokesman Sgt. Wilfredo Diaz said the three incidents, despite their severity, do not currently indicate an elevated risk that would warrant public alarm or a formal advisory. Case Western Reserve University violence prevention expert Daniel Flannery said rideshare drivers can be especially vulnerable because they travel alone, often at night, while dividing attention between navigation and passenger pickup locations. He also said the wide availability of firearms, including untraceable ghost guns, has increased the danger.
The report said federal officials do not have a comprehensive system for tracking attacks on rideshare drivers and passengers, making trend analysis difficult. Elizabeth Repko of the U.S. Government Accountability Office said incomplete data and underreporting make it hard to tell whether the problem is growing. A 2024 GAO report documented about 4,600 serious sexual assaults and 19 fatal assaults in 2019 using company safety reports, but those figures captured only the most severe incidents and did not distinguish between drivers and passengers.
Uber and Lyft both declined interview requests or offered limited statements. Uber said violent incidents on the platform are extremely rare and pointed to emergency assistance, rider verification, GPS tracking, trip recording and a 24/7 incident response team. Lyft said more than 99.9% of rides from January 2020 through December 2022 had no issues and highlighted safety tools including location sharing, emergency help through ADT, trip check-ins and a round-the-clock safety team. John Carroll University criminology professor Katie Knoll-Frey said companies still need stronger safeguards to prevent riders from using burner phones or fake accounts to request trips.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
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