Lyft driver charged with DWI

An Austin Lyft driver has lost his job after being  arrested for  DWI. This all happened while a customer was in the car.

Alex Grant thought it was going to be a usual trip home with Lyft.

“When I got in the car we basically pulled out onto Parmer and he was having a hard time staying in his lane. I just thought he wasn't paying attention,” Grant said.

This was all unfolding on the west end of Parmer Lane near Mopac. After a couple of odd maneuvers from the driver, grant knew it was much more.

“He braked at a green light and then cut over in the intersection and when he did that I was like ok I need to get out of the car,” Grant said.

That's when an Austin police officer pulled the driver over, with Grant in the back seat.

“When he reached over into the glove box to grab his insurance information I could smell it on him and I was like okay that's a problem,” Grant said.

Police arrested 44-year-old Allen Edmonds for driving while intoxicated. Grant hung around during the arrest, before police cleared him.

“It was kind of surreal because you don't expect your driver to be driving drunk,” Grant said.

In a statement, Lyft says:

Grant believes if officers had not pulled the driver over, things could have turned deadly..

“If they are not driving safely and you're not comfortable you have every opportunity to ask them to stop and get out of the vehicle,” Grant said.