A 32-year-old Lyft driver was shot and killed on the east side of Cleveland overnight during an apparent drive-by shooting.
Police responded to the intersection of Olympia and Wayside roads just after midnight for a report of two people shot.
When officers arrived, they found a man inside a Chevy Impala with four gunshot wounds to the upper left side of his body.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Lyft confirmed that he was a driver for the company and provided the following statement to News 5 regarding his death.
We were horrified to learn of this incident, and are deeply saddened by the loss of life. Our thoughts are with those affected by this incredible tragedy. There is no place in our society for such violence. We stand ready to assist law enforcement in their investigation.
According to Cleveland police, the driver had picked up a 31-year-old passenger and was driving on Wayside Road when shots were fired into the car.
BREAKING: Lyft driver shot & killed overnight in Cleveland, passenger in stable condition. Statement from @lyft ? pic.twitter.com/Yu1r7WlAyG
— Homa Bash (@HomaBashWEWS) August 28, 2017
The passenger, who was shot in the arm, was taken by Cleveland EMS to University Hospital. She was alert and talking when transported. Her mother told News 5 that the bullet hit her bone, and she is expected to undergo surgery on Wednesday.
Police originally said that a man was arrested in connection with the shooting but he has since been released without being charged.
News 5 discovered it took paramedics 16 minutes and 45 seconds to respond to the scene.
Dispatchers are heard over the scanner repeatedly asking for EMS to step up while police and firefighters rendered first aid.
According to Cleveland city spokesman Dan Williams, 19 ambulances were in service overnight. The current average response time for all calls is 11 minutes and 58 seconds.
The president of the Cleveland Association of Rescue Employees, Daniel Nemeth, said that every single ambulance was on a call at the time.
Money from the city's income tax increase will add 72 paramedics, increasing the number of ambulances to 25 during the day and 21 at night by the end of the year. Nemeth said he still doesn't believe that will be enough as call volumes spike in the city.
