Rideshare Driver Charged with Kidnapping After Changing Ride

INDIANAPOLIS — A rideshare service driver is facing multiple felony charges after a mother told police that the driver canceled their trip after picking them up and wouldn’t take them where they wanted to go.

The 18-year-old mother had her 2-month-old son with her when they were picked up Tuesday afternoon for a ride to a family member’s home. The woman told investigators with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department shortly after being picked up that the driver canceled the Lyft ride and said “I don’t know why it did that.” He also ignored her requests to let them out of the car.

According to the woman, the man also kept repeating the phrase “Oh baby, oh baby.”

The mother called 911 after the driver drove past their destination and went on a different route. She also attempted to open the car door but couldn’t because the child safety lock was on. That’s when she rolled down the window and tried opening the door from the outside. The mother got herself and her child out of the car and ran to a nearby home where a man helped them. A family member eventually picked them up at the man’s home.

The driver has been identified as Francky Lahens, 56. A patrolling IMPD officer ended up locating the Lahens’ vehicle at an apartment complex just off East 38th Street east of Mitthoefer Road.

Lahens now faces three low-level felony counts of kidnapping and three low-level felony counts of criminal confinement. He has an initial hearing scheduled for Friday morning in Marion Superior Court 21.

Rideshare Driver Charged with Kidnapping After Changing Mother’s Ride  was originally published on wibc.com