Nashville Police Working To Identify Lyft Driver Who Allegedly Tried To Kidnap Visitor After Releasing Gas In The Car

Scary stuff out there... Over the past few years, there have been numerous stories that have gone viral from both women and men who have claimed that they were drugged or robbed during a night out in Nashville. And obviously it isn't a problem that's unique to Music City, or any big city. But in a place filled with so many tourists who are in an unfamiliar city, especially one where people come to party and too often let their guard down, it's an important reminder to keep your head on a swivel and be aware of your surroundings at all times. And one woman has recently gone viral with a scary story from an encounter that allegedly took place not at a bar, but in a rideshare. In a video posted to TikTok, Mia Hart recalled the encounter while she was in town from her native California, claiming that everything started out normal at first until she noticed her driver pull his sweatshirt up over his face and mouth: "All of a sudden, my driver puts his sweater, sweatshirt up over his nose. And in front of the center console, I just see what looks to be some gas being released. I remember seeing it, just out of my peripheral vision, and I look up and I see it, look at the mirror, and he's looking directly at me with his thing over his nose." Mia says she knew in that moment not to breathe, but when she took a small breath, she immediately felt the effects of whatever had been released in the car: "Immediately felt tingles all through my body. It literally felt like everything was slowing down, and it felt like I was about to pass out. It was a sweet scent." But luckily, she was able to escape while the car was stopped: "Thank God - the second I felt it my arms felt limp. I grabbed the door handle. Thank God it was unlocked. Grabbed my stuff, ran out of the car pretty much... Ran to the corner where there was a woman standing there, she was waiting to cross the street, and I tried to get help. I tried to tell her what happened... and I couldn't talk. I couldn't talk to this woman and tell her what had just happened." Mia believes that she nearly died, and issues a warning to others who are using rideshares: "Please ladies and gentlemen, always keep a window cracked. Always stay on the phone. And if you see smoke, don't breathe it in, because I'm pretty sure it was chloroform, and also, trafficking is huge and we have to be more careful." While some in the comments of her video had doubts about the story, the Metro Nashville Police Department confirmed to WSMV that a police report was in fact filed, and that they were working with Lyft to identify the rideshare driver. Obviously the (alleged) kidnapping attempt is a cautionary tale not just for those in Nashville, but for anywhere you're in a rideshare like Uber or Lyft. Stay alert, especially in big cities with unfamiliar people and surroundings. I've never felt unsafe in downtown Nashville (but then again, I'm a guy so probably not the main target for crimes like this) but that doesn't mean that it can't, or won't, happen here. https://www.tiktok.com/@miahartounian/video/7461349760767642923