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Lyft Driver Attacks Female Passenger, Nearby Drivers Fight Back

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — A Lyft driver allegedly pulled a female passenger out of his car and started to attack her Tuesday.

This was after the two got into an argument about the music playing on her phone.

The woman, actress Alessandra Starr Ward, says the driver demanded she turn off the music on her phone. Ward refused and the two started arguing.

Lyft Driver Attacks Passenger
(credit: CBS2)

The driver threatened to throw her out of the car, and she told him she'd call police if he did. Video footage shows him throwing her onto the ground.

In a clip obtained by TMZ, you can see Ward fighting back, but the driver pushes her down and knocks her over.

Drivers in other cars saw the incident and stopped to help.

Several men teamed up on the Lyft driver, who continued fighting back, knocking down Ward again. One man put the driver in a chokehold to try to calm him down.

Ward says she has bruises all over her body, a sprained ankle and a black eye. The driver is now permanently banned from Lyft.

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