HOUSTON – Three men are on the run after investigators said a rideshare driver was robbed, killed, and carjacked overnight Wednesday on Houston’s southside before his vehicle was found abandoned in a ditch just a few blocks away.
MORE CRIME-RELATED NEWS COVERAGE
Houston police said around 2 a.m. a witness called saying a 27-year-old man, who works for Lyft, was found and had been shot several times. He was rushed to a hospital, where he died from his injuries.
KPRC 2 reporter Corley Peel spoke with Isaac Wingfall, who rushed to help the driver after hearing multiple gunshots.
“I was very afraid,” said Wingfall. “At first, I thought it was just some people just shooting in the air and firing some shots off. We hear that every night in this neighborhood.”
He said the driver was still alive and trying to talk when he and other witnesses stayed by his side.
“He was asking for some water because he kept saying he was thirsty, so he needed some water. Me and my wife, we just started praying for him, hoping that he would make it. But he didn’t make it. I’m sad to hear that,” said Wingfall.
Witnesses told officers the unidentified Lyft driver was pulled out of his car, robbed, and shot several times by the other men. They then took off with his car and found it left behind in a ditch at a dead-end street on Goforth Street near Dreyfus—just blocks away from where the driver was left for dead.
SEE ALSO: Man calls Houston police saying he shot, killed person rummaging inside his car in Alief
Detectives told KPRC 2 the driver was using his mother’s car to make money for his education and was training to be a pilot.
In response to the killing, Lyft sent KPRC 2 the following statement:
“Our hearts are with the driver’s family and loved ones in the midst of this terrible tragedy. We have reached out to offer support during this difficult time, and we are working with law enforcement on their ongoing investigation.”
HPD Homicide Detective Alexander Vinogradov said officers have been called out to this area previously for similar carjackings and are continuing their investigation to try and find the man’s killers. Investigators confirmed it was the third carjacking a rideshare driver has experienced in the last two weeks in the very same neighborhood.
However, they do not have much to go by on who they are so are asking for any witnesses and neighbors with surveillance videos in the area to come forward by calling the police or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS (8477)