WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. \u2014 A 52-year-old man working as a Lyft driver reported he had picked up a 35-year-old man in Broward County to drive him to Jacksonville. He thought it was a good job, but it turned out to be a nightmare. <\/p>\n
There was a carjacking, a short chase, and a crash on March 4, according to a Palm Beach County Sheriff\u2019s Office deputy\u2019s arrest report. Court records showed the criminal case was pending on Friday, and the Lyft driver, Miguel Molina, was desperate for help. <\/p>\n
\u201cI lost my job 4 months ago after working for a family-owned dealership for 5 years,\u201d Molina wrote on GoFundMe<\/a>. \u201cGetting another job at my age is hard; not everyone wants to give the opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n Declan Murphy\u2019s Lyft ride was from 1085 Hillsboro Mile, in Hillsboro Beach, to 1036 Dunn Ave., in Jacksonville\u2019s Highlands area, and he stole Molina\u2019s 2017 gray Honda CRV in West Palm Beach, according to deputies. <\/p>\n “Like any other day, I was creating a safe and comfortable ride for the rider when he hijacked my car,” Molina wrote<\/a>. <\/p>\n Molina told deputies that he had asked his 26-year-old stepson, Raymond Pagan, to meet him at the Marathon gas station, at 1840 Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard, once Murphy agreed they could travel together, according to deputies. <\/p>\n Molina \u201cwent inside the store to prepay for gas\u201d and was \u201creturning to the pump area\u201d when he saw Murphy, of Pompano Beach, get in the Honda\u2019s driver\u2019s seat, according to deputies. <\/p>\n Molina \u201cran to the driver\u2019s side door … struck the window,\u201d and fell when Murphy stepped on the gas, nearly running him over, according to deputies. <\/p>\n Pagan had driven to the gas station, so Molina jumped in his car, and they chased Murphy eastbound on Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard for nearly two miles, while on the phone with a 911 dispatcher, according to deputies.<\/p>\n Murphy crashed at Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard and Tamarind Avenue, according to deputies. Pagan told reporters he ran after Murphy and tackled him in the parking lot of Hook Fish & Chicken at 1001 Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard. <\/p>\n \u201cIt is not the fact that my car got stolen, or the person who stole it, but what was keeping me afloat, and helping me get through the days, got taken away from me in seconds,\u201d Molina wrote<\/a>. <\/p>\n Palm Beach County court records show prosecutors filed a case against Murphy on March 5 on a felony charge of grand theft with damage of over $1,000. Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Sarah Willis is presiding over the case. <\/p>\n