Student attacked in downtown Athens by suspects who tracked him down in Lyft vehicle

By Joe Johnson

A group of males reportedly used the Lyft rideshare service to find and assault an 18-year-old student in downtown Athens.

The incident occurred early the morning of October 17, and it was described in a police report as follows:

The victim had been talking to a former girlfriend in the Bad Moon Bar on East Clayton Street, and upon leaving was jumped by several males who had exited an SUV that stopped in the street outside.

Due to his highly emotional and intoxicated condition, the victim was unable to provide a full account of what happened. He was bleeding from head and facial injuries, his face was extremely swollen, and was experiencing dizziness.

National EMS personnel treated the student at the scene before transporting him to the hospital.

Meanwhile, a University of Georgia police unit stopped the SUV at East Broad and Lumpkin streets, when it was learned that it was being operated as a Lyft rideshare service vehicle.

The driver said he had picked up the suspects at the Cloud Athens nightclub on East Clayton Street, and after setting out for their apartment complex they jumped out as near the Jackson Street intersection, briefly leaving before returning to resume the ride home.

Police were able to get a more complete picture of what happened by reviewing footage from downtown surveillance cameras.

They saw four males exiting the SUV at East Clayton and North Jackson streets, and while one remained behind the others walked toward the Bad Moon Bar. After briefly being off-camera they returned to the SUV, which then drove away.

“Upon tracing the vehicle’s path prior to the incident, it became apparent that the vehicle had picked up the males and began driving around the downtown area as if the occupants were looking for (the victim’s) whereabouts,” police recounted in a report.

The incident is under investigation as an aggravated battery on the student.