Child Leaps From Lyft Car In North Jersey, Cops Address Kidnapping Concerns

TENAFLY, NJ — A child jumped out of a rideshare car in Bergen County on Tuesday when the driver took a wrong turn, sparking rumors of an attempted abduction, police said. But there's a logical explanation, police added.

Tenafly Police Captain Michael deMoncada said that on Tuesday, around 3:30 p.m., a student at a local school used the Lyft app to get a ride home.

But instead of driving to the child's street, the driver missed the turn. Then, when the child tried to alert the driver, the driver did not respond, deMoncada said.

"In fear for their safety," the child jumped out of the moving vehicle, falling and sustaining minor injuries, deMoncada said.

The student ran home and called 911.

The child was brought to the hospital and police began hearing rumors of an attempted abduction. But there was another explanation.

Police were able to contact the driver, who turned out to be a 70-year-old man from Hackensack who was hearing impaired, deMoncada said. The man came to police headquarters to explain.

"When questioned, the driver admitted that he had missed the indicated turn while trying to follow directions on his phone’s navigation screen," deMoncada said.

'Social Media Has Great Influence'

According to deMoncada, the man said he saw the child jump out and stopped the car. When the kid ran away, the driver assumed the child was unharmed.

The driver marked the ride as complete and reported the incident to Lyft management via the app, police said.

Police confirmed that the driver was hearing impaired.

"Over the last 24 hours, our agency was made aware of several online social media posts from members of the public that believed this incident was an attempted abduction or kidnapping," deMoncada noted. "However, after speaking with all involved parties and completing a thorough investigation, we believe this was a misunderstanding and not criminal in nature.

"We would also like to remind the public that social media has great influence on our communities. While we can applaud this juvenile for removing themselves from what they believed was an unsafe situation, we should not jump to conclusions online or in any other forum about the identities of the involved persons, the intentions of the driver, or legitimacy of a particular ride-sharing app based upon a social media post."

Police acknowledged there was a delay in releasing the information to the public, because they were investigating.

"We are often unable to comment because the investigation is active and ongoing," they said. "That being said, we appreciate the public’s patience and understanding, and hope that this provides an opportunity for parents to proactively speak with their children about the use of ridesharing apps and establishing a personal safety plan when doing so."

Lyft's policy says kids under 18 can't ride without an adult. Uber has "Uber for Teens" in some areas.

A group called Safe Ride 4 Kids reminds parents that crashes and other incidents can occur during ride shares, and offers tips for safety.