The ride-share driver spent at least 57 hours with the kidnappers before fleeing to Florida.
ARLINGTON, Texas — Federal prosecutors have accused a man of kidnapping a North Texas ride-share driver at gunpoint, forcing him to drive more than 1,300 miles to Miami, Florida.
According to the affidavit, the incident began around 10:30 p.m. on Aug. 16 when Miguel Alejandro Pastran Hernandez hails a ride with Lyft in Arlington.
According to court documents, the ride-share driver picked up Pastran-Hernandez and drove him to a designated drop-off point at a gas station that appeared to be closed, where Pastran-Hernandez pulled out a gun and loaded it, the FBI alleges.
Authorities said the driver offered Pastran-Hernandez whatever he had in the vehicle, but Pastran-Hernandez, 23, threatened to tie the driver up and force him into the backseat of the car. The victim begged to drive and Pastran-Hernandez complied, setting off toward Florida and ordering him to stay within the speed limit, the affidavit states.
According to court records, the driver had an unloaded 9mm handgun and separately stored ammunition in the vehicle, but Pastran-Hernandez found the weapon and kept it.
After spending about 12 hours together, Pastran-Hernandez allegedly instructed the driver to call the children and tell them he was on an extended business trip “so the children would not suspect the victim’s absence,” according to the affidavit, when the couple were in Louisiana around 11 a.m. on Aug. 17.
The pair arrived in the Miami Beach area on Aug. 18, where Pastran-Hernandez ordered his driver to take a second potential victim to watch, with the 23-year-old planning to kidnap the man and demand a $3 million ransom.
According to court documents, Pastran-Hernandez ordered the driver to take him to a Dollar General store in Hialeah, Florida, on Monday, Aug. 19, to buy supplies for the second kidnapping. The driver hid in the store’s bathroom until police arrived.
It’s unclear whether the driver called police themselves or a store employee. Pastran-Hernandez fled the scene, but authorities arrested him three hours later in Hollywood, Florida.
During interviews with police, Pastran admitted to kidnapping the ride-share driver at gunpoint, according to the affidavit.
The ride-share driver’s name was not listed in court documents.
In a statement, a Lyft spokesperson called the incidents described in the affidavit “deeply disturbing.”
“We have reached out to the driver to offer assistance, permanently banned the rider’s account from the Lyft platform, and are cooperating with law enforcement in their investigation,” the spokesperson said.
Arlington police officials said Wednesday that investigators are not aware of any cases similar to the reported kidnapping.
Patran Hernandez is being held in a federal prison in Miami on charges of kidnapping, carjacking and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
It is not clear where Pastran-Hernandez lives or what ties the 23-year-old has to Arlington.
Quentin Brogdon, a Dallas attorney who handles cases involving ride-sharing companies but is not involved in Pastran-Hernandez’s case, said he has never seen such an affidavit.
“I can’t imagine the fear, the utter terror, in the mind of this rideshare driver,” Brogdon said.
“Unfortunately, I was not surprised,” he continued. “This is just one example of a series of crimes committed by and against Uber and Lyft drivers.”
He argues that ride-sharing companies have the resources to better protect their drivers and passengers, and he noted that most ride-sharing services don’t fingerprint drivers to verify that they are who they say they are on official documents filed with the company.
“We’re all taught not to hitchhike,” he said, “and we’ve been taught that since we were kids, but that’s exactly what we do as passengers in Ubers and Lyfts.”
Pastran-Hernandez appeared in federal court in Florida after his arrest on Monday. The public defender representing him did not respond to WFAA’s request for more information.
