Passenger arrested, charged with touching Lyft driver inappropriately, Duluth police say

DULUTH, Ga. — A metro Atlanta man has been arrested and charged with sexual battery while he was riding in a Lyft, according to Duluth police.

Duluth police arrested 25-year-old Antonio Cartagena on Tuesday after they said he touched a Lyft driver inappropriately.

While at the intersection of Pleasant Hill Road and North Berkeley Lake Road, Cartagena was a rear-seat passenger and allegedly reached up to the 55-year-old driver and started groping her.

The driver then turned around seeing that Cartagena was “partially nude and engaging in lewd acts.”

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Cartagena got out of the car and ran away before officers arrived.

Cartagena was charged with sexual battery and public indecency.

Police said detectives “played a pivotal role in identifying the suspect.”

“Safety is fundamental to Lyft. The behavior described is reprehensible and has no place in the Lyft community or anywhere in society. We permanently banned the individual from the Lyft platform and have reached out to the driver to offer our support.” a Lyft spokesperson told Channel 2 Action News.

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Cartagena was booked into the Gwinnett County Jail.

Police said anyone who experienced anything similar with Cartagena should contact Detective Javier Bahamundi at (678) 512-3708.

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