A South Florida woman accused of attacking a fellow passenger during a shared Lyft ride on Miami Beach has surrendered to police to face a felony battery charge, officials said.
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Sherry Shelsey Moody, 24, surrendered to police Thursday in the alleged beating of 57-year-old Jose Gonzalez back on Jan. 26, according to a Miami Beach Police arrest report.
According to the report, Moody was intoxicated and became angry when the driver refused to take her through a drive-thru for food.
When the driver stopped to pick up Gonzalez, Moody became infuriated and attacked Gonzalez, yelling "You f--king gays!" the report said.
Moody slapped and scratched Gonzalez in the unprovoked attack, and kicked him with the high heels of her shoes, causing a puncture wound to his head and face area, the report said.
The report said the Lyft driver pulled over and immediately removed Moody and her friend from the vehicle and took Gonzalez home, where he sought medical assistance and called police.
Moody, who is listed as a makeup artist in the arrest report, was being held on $5,000 Thursday, jail records showed. Attorney information wasn't available.
Gonzalez's attorney called the incident a "vicious hate crime" and said he's suing Lyft and Moody. Police said the case has been referred to the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office, which will determine if any hate crime enhancements will be added to Moody's charge.
A Lyft spokesperson said they couldn't comment on the lawsuit, but said the company has a strict anti-discrimination policy and is ready to assist law enforcement in the investigation.
"What has been described here is incredibly disturbing and completely against our values as a company. There is no place in the Lyft community for discrimination or violence of any kind," the company said in a statement. "As soon as we were made aware of this incident, we immediately deactivated the individual accused of this behavior. We also reached out to the victim to offer our support and assistance."
Courtesy of news partner at NBC Miami
