ISSAQUAH, Wash. –A Lake Sammamish man has been banned from Lyft and fired from his job after he used racist, derogatory language and threatened to urinate inside a Lyft driver’s car Tuesday night in Issaquah.
In a video shared by the driver David Kangogo, the rider went on a racist rant after he allegedly refused to wear a face covering inside Kangogo’s car, which is a policy with Lyft.
Kangogo says he picked the couple up from Malarkey’s Sports Gril in Issaquah and then a few minutes into the ride, the man took off his mask and refused to put it back on. That’s when Kangogo says he pulled over and ended the ride.
The video starts with the rider and his wife getting kicked out of the car. The rider then goes off on a racist rant while his wife can be heard in the background telling him to stop because she is also recording the incident on her phone.
In the video, the wife is heard saying “we expected a Lyft ride home. That’s what we expected.” Kangogo is heard in the background replying, “just put on your mask.”
Kangogo then gets in his car and drives off as the rider and the woman walk away from the car.
Lyft says they have permanently banned the rider from using the app after seeing the video. In a tweet the company wrote “There is no place for discrimination of any sort in the Lyft community, and this behavior is unacceptable. We have permanently removed the rider from the Lyft community and are in touch with the driver to offer our support.”
Issaquah Police say they are aware of the incident but Kangogo has not reported it to the police. They cannot start an investigation until he does.
An owner of Malarkey’s Sports Grill in Issaquah says the couple is now banned from the restaurant.
The rider’s employeeer Wilbur-Ellis, posted on social media that the rider had been fired from his job writing, “Today we learned of a disturbing video that portrayed disgusting racist comments by one of our employees. His employment has been terminated effective immediately. Wilbur-Ellis stands against racism in all its forms.”
On Friday, the rider sent the following statement to KOMO News apologizing for his behavior:
“I humbly apologize for my behavior towards David K. the Lyft driver on Tuesday night. I should have never said the things I said nor acted like a complete idiot. He didn’t deserve that. Nobody does. I had too much to drink and lost control of my tongue and I said horrible things that I truly regret. Watching the video was hard for me, it was if I didn’t recognize the person. I let myself down, I let my friends and family down, I let my company down, I let our whole country down. I ask for forgiveness and mercy from literally everyone especially David the driver, the Lyft community, my family and friends and our community.”
*By KOMO News Staff*
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