NYC woman sues ride-share app Via after ‘terrifying’ trip where she fled from moving car

A Manhattan woman claims she endured a trip from hell through ride-share app Via — that ended with her fleeing the moving car on the Grand Central Parkway to get away from her irate driver, a new lawsuit charges.

Dinora Dendariarena says Via only offered her a measly credit after she complained about the harrowing ride on Feb. 26, 2021 — when driver Lei Sun allegedly went berserk, according to her Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit from Tuesday.

After picking up Dendariarena from an address in East Harlem for the trip to Queens, Sun told his fare to “shut up” when she repeatedly asked him to open the windows in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the suit says.

That prompted Dendariarena to report Sun during the trek to Via’s customer service, with the company saying they would reach out to him directly, the court documents say.

But suddenly, “Sun’s demeanor immediately changed and he became visibly angry,” the suit alleges.

Sun allegedly flew past the exit to Dendariarena’s destination and pointed at the app indicating that he’d canceled her trip, the court papers say. The driver intentionally started driving the wrong way “toward an unknown destination,” the filing alleges.

The trip then took a terrifying turn, Dendariarena’s suit claims.

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“After ending the ride, defendant Sun reached his hand toward the back seat, attempting to touch Ms. Dendariarena,” who moved to the other side of the back seat, the filing says.

Sun then sped up and locked the doors when she tried to get out of the car, the suit claims.

When traffic forced the car to slow down on the Grand Central Parkway, Dendariarena grabbed her things and jumped out of the car “as it was moving.” She hurt herself when she hit the pavement, the filing says.

The unhinged driver “also exited the vehicle abandoning it in the middle of traffic and chased Ms. Dendariarena,” the filing claims.

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Screaming for help, a good Samaritan let Dendariarena into their car to safety, according to the papers.

“Sun seeing that Ms. Dedariarena was out of reach, then re-entered his vehicle and fled the scene,” the court papers claim.

She called 911 right away and filed a police report the next day.

After the terrifying incident, Via merely agreed to give her a credit “for the ride for the ‘inconvenience’ of being attacked by their driver,” the suit claims.

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Dendariarena “has suffered significant physical, psychological and economic injuries as a result of defendant’s false imprisonment and harassing conduct,” the suit charges.

“I think the negligence of Via is clear both in terms of their hiring, their training and their retention of their drivers,” Dendariarena’s lawyer Tracey Brown told The Post. “For one of their drivers to refuse to take a passenger to their destination, to ignore a complaint made during the ride to Via so that the driver continues to harass, then assault and falsely imprison her, Via should absolutely be liable for.

“It’s beyond insulting that they have so far refused to take responsibility for their actions,” Brown said. “And offering a complimentary ride or a credit is not taking responsibility for the hiring of their drivers who assault and imprison passengers.”

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Dendariarena is suing Via and the driver for unspecified damages under claims including negligence, assault and false imprisonment.

In a statement, the company said: “Via is deeply committed to rider and driver safety, and we take all incidents involving safety extremely seriously.

“Contrary to the claims made by the rider in this case, Via immediately responded to the rider’s complaints, conducted a thorough internal investigation that did not support the rider’s allegations, and has repeatedly reached out to the rider offering to cooperate and assist with any law enforcement investigation.”

Sun could not immediately be reached for comment.