Texas Lyft driver sues rideshare company, hospital after passenger strangled him with his own seat belt

A Lyft driver who claims a passenger attacked him in Texas by strangling him with his own seat belt while he was driving him to his destination has filed a lawsuit against Lyft and the hospital where he picked up the passenger.

Driver Kehinde Ayoola said staff at Houston Memorial Hermann Hospital requested transportation and helped the passenger into the vehicle in February this year.

“He pulled my seat belt and wrapped it around my neck, strangling me. He was trying to kill me,” Ayoola told Fox 26.

The passenger, Ramiro Vella, was accused of aggravated assault in connection with the attack.

LYFT DRIVER SAYS PASSENGER CHOKE HIM WITH HIS OWN SEATBELT IN TEXAS: 'HE WAS TRYING TO KILL ME'

A Lyft driver who claims a passenger strangled him with his own seat belt has filed a lawsuit against Lyft and the hospital where he picked up the passenger. (Getty)

Ayoola explained the impact the violent attack has had on him since the incident, noting that he is now afraid of being the victim of another attack.

“Just as we're sitting here, if somebody tries to come behind me, I'm still very scared, you know. I still see it. Every day,” he said, adding that it happens over and over again.

He said he had not taken passengers since the incident because of his fears. He had been a rideshare driver for seven years.

“Because I am still afraid. Even if my grandson is sitting behind me in the car, I am afraid,” Ayoola said.

Ayoola said when he arrived at the hospital to pick up Vella, he observed the man standing with three hospital workers as he became agitated and behaved strangely.

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The passenger, Ramiro Vella, has been charged with aggravated assault in connection with the attack. (Getty)

“When I picked up this passenger in February, I talked to the staff, the staff at Memorial Hermann,” he recalled. “I asked them, ‘Hey, what’s going on? Is this guy OK?’ They said, ‘Oh yeah, he’s OK.’ I even asked the security guard, and he said, ‘Yeah, he’s OK.’”

Shortly after getting into his car, Vella began talking to himself before beating his chest and, at one point, slid across the back seat to the seat behind Ayoola. The passenger then grabbed Ayoola’s seat belt and wrapped it around the driver’s neck, according to Ayoola.

Ayoola tried to put her fingers between her neck and the seat belt, but was unable to unbuckle it. Vella then used her arm to strangle Ayoola.

The driver parked his car on the side of the road and Vella kicked the rear window until the frame came out before denting the rear of the vehicle and opening the trunk, Ayoola said.

According to investigators, Vella then ran toward a home and began yelling and trying to get in. The homeowner called 911 and Vella was arrested.

Ayoola said he had not taken passengers since the incident because of fears of another attack. (Photo illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket)

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Ayoola is “an innocent, hardworking man who was simply trying to complete a Lyft ride that was ordered, supervised and requested by Memorial Hermann Hospital, and he ended up being attacked,” Ayoola’s attorney, Osayuki Ogbeidet, told Fox 26.

“He expressed his concerns to the staff at Memorial Hermann, and they reassured him that Ramiro Vella would be fine,” Ogbeide added.

Ogbeide said Ayoola suffered “very unique damages. Not just lost wages, not just medical bills, but his whole life has been turned upside down.”

Vella's next court appearance is scheduled for September 25.