Lyft driver accused of stalking customer over unpaid fare

ORLANDO, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - A former Lyft driver says she's innocent, after being arrested for stalking a passenger.

Deputies say 56-year-old Karen Burd went to her passenger's workplace at the Doubletree Hotel, leaving notes demanding money.

"I left a message at her workplace, and I thought she didn't get it, because sometimes they put it aside. And three weeks span, I put another message, I walk out.  Then Monday, I think it was, a message: 'Please call me.' And that's it, 'Put the $1.16 in the envelope.'"

Burd was trying to get $1.16 for tolls she says her transponder didn't pick up during her passenger's ride.

"Stalking means being aggressive, to me.  I could have sat in lobby or waited outside. I put a note in there and left immediately."

Deputies say the alleged victim told her supervisor that she feared for her safety, so they called deputies, and they in turn, called Burd.

"All of a sudden, he says 'Put your hands behind your back!' He just baited me and is very mean to me."

We asked why all the effort for so little money.

"It's just the principal. I shouldn't use my money to pay for a customer's fare."

In the end, Burd says trying to get her $1.16 back was both traumatizing and costly.

"Five-hundred dollars to bond out of jail. It's gonna cost me a lot of money."

Lyft released a statement saying they removed Burd's access as a Lyft driver and calls this unacceptable behavior.