DAUPHIN COUNTY — Police have accused a 28-year-old Lancaster County man with assaulting a Lyft driver in an incident Saturday in Lower Swatara Township.
In addition to grabbing the victim’s arm while he was driving and opening a passenger door while the vehicle was in motion, police say, Jason L. Nyhart, of Manheim, allegedly refused to exit the car when the driver threw him out.
Nyhart later vomited in the back of a Lower Swatara Township Police car as he was being transported to the police station, according to the criminal complaint. He was processed at the station and kept on a six-hour hold due to his level of intoxication, according to police.
He is charged with public drunkenness, reckless endangerment, harassment, disorderly conduct and a general criminal misdemeanor, according to police.
Police say the Lyft driver called to report the incident at about 1:54 a.m. The driver said he picked up Nyhart and two other passengers from the River House Bar in Middletown. As he was driving them home, the passenger in the back seat, later identified as Nyhart, slapped the victim’s right arm and then grabbed it while he was driving, refusing to let go. He also opened his door while the vehicle was in motion, the victim reported.
At that point, the victim said, he pulled over in the area of the 800 block of Oberlin Road and kicked the three passengers out of his vehicle. The other two men exited, the victim said, but Nyhart allegedly refused several requests to leave before the other passengers managed to convince him.
The driver then called police, according to the criminal complaint.
When the officer arrived, two of the passengers were still at the scene, but Nyhart was walking north on Route 441, police say. He was stopped and driven back to the scene.
