Lyft Rider Allegedly Stabs His Pregnant Driver To Death

Source: Kelly Sullivan / Getty

The Senseless Act Is Still Being Investigated

One man allegedly did one of the most horrible things imaginable when he took a ride with Lyft on Sunday.

According to ABC 7, 20-year-old Fabian Durazo is being accused of stabbing his pregnant driver to death, killing her unborn child. He then proceeded to steal the vehicle only to be picked up by the police near the California line, according to authorities.

The whole incident went down in Arizona when 39-year-old Kristina Howato decided to drive for Lyft in the wee hours of Sunday morning. She picked up Durazo in west Tempe, according to police spokesman Sgt. Ron Elcock.

When they arrived at an apartment complex about a half-mile away, Durazo allegedly attacked Howato and fled with her SUV.

Police responded to the apartment complex around 1:30 a.m. after being notified of a woman screaming in the parking lot.

A witness said Howato “walked over to my neighbor’s apartment there, that’s where she was banging on the door, yelling for help.” The witness said blood was spilling everywhere.

“I asked her what happened. She said she was stabbed. I tried to locate the wounds. I asked her where she was stabbed. She said, ‘All over,'” the witness said.

Soon, Howato went unconscious after vaguely describing her attacker, according to the witness. “Myself and my roommate’s friend tried to do what we could do, as much first aid as we could, stop bleeding,” he said.

Officers eventually arrived on the scene and Howato was transported to a hospital where she died along with her unborn child. She was in her third trimester of pregnancy, and she also left behind two other young children.

Arizona Department of Public Safety officials used GPS tracking to find the stolen SUV about 25 miles from the Arizona-California line. Durazo was taken into custody Sunday afternoon and held at a La Paz County jail on suspicion of two counts of first-degree murder, one count of kidnapping and one count of armed robbery.

Officers say they don’t believe Durazo and Howato knew each other, and the motive behind the stabbing remains unclear.

“Throughout our careers as officers, we have incidents that really, really touch our hearts and stay with you throughout your careers,” Elcock said at a press conference. “This is definitely one of those incidents that really is going to affect the police department for a long time.”

Lyft is assisting with the investigation, and they assured that the passenger’s account has been permanently deactivated.