Mother of slain Lyft driver demands changes to emergency features

by David Pierce

Tue, May 10th 2022, 3:00 AM UTC

Kristian Philpotts' Mother, Marla Rice, believes Lyft should provide physical emergency buttons rather than just updating the safety features on their app. Rice said people won't have time to navigate the app if they have a gun pointed at them. (CREDIT:{ }AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File){p}{/p}

Screenshot from Philpotts' phone with messages from Lyft from the night he was killed and a prior incident. (CREDIT: MARLA RICE){ }{p}{/p}

Kristian Philpotts was shot on January 12th near Vine street and Burkwood court in Urbana. He was attacked by three teenagers. Two of which 16 years and the other 17 years. All under the 18 year old age requirement to ride Lyft. (CREDIT: David Pierce/WCCU){p}{/p}

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Kristian Philpotts' Mother, Marla Rice, believes Lyft should provide physical emergency buttons rather than just updating the safety features on their app. Rice said people won't have time to navigate the app if they have a gun pointed at them. (CREDIT: AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

The mother of a Lyft driver, Kristian Philpotts, who was shot and killed in Urbana is asking the rideshare company to change its safety features.

Lyft's website says they updated their safety feature in July of last year so drivers can press a "panic button" to call 911.

Philpotts' mother, Marla Rice, said that's not what happened in January when her son was killed.

She said the app sent a text message asking if he was okay after taking too long to complete the ride on the night he died.

Rice believes it would've been impossible for him to respond since he was hit by a bullet.

"When they sent that text, my son was already shot on the ground dying," Rice said.

A screenshot of the message sent by Lyft reads, "Lyft here, just checking in. It looks like your ride is taking longer than expected. Check your route and let us know if you need help."

Rice says Lyft should be more urgent with sending help.

"They are tracking drivers way too late by they giving them 30 minutes to respond back," Rice explained. "People in an emergency don't have 30 minutes to respond."

We contacted Lyft regarding Philpotts' experience. They shared a statement:

“Since day one, we’ve built safety into every part of the Lyft experience. We are committed to doing everything we can to help protect drivers from crime, and will continue to take action and invest in technology, policies and partnerships to make Lyft as safe as it can be."

When asked about the latest update, Rice believes the emergency button should be a physical object. Not on the digital application.

"If he was able to press that one button, the police probably couldn't been there," Rice said.

Three teenagers were arrested in connection to the shooting of Philpotts near Vine Street and Burkwood Court.

All of them were under 18, which is below Lyft's age requirement for passengers.

Rice is also demanding the company does better watching who's fooling their system.

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"People are signing up under fake names," Rice said. "They order Lyft rides and they rob these drivers."

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