A California Lyft driver is behind bars for allegedly molesting a drunken woman who fell asleep in his car.
Fernando Macias Morales, 35, is being held on $500,000 bail after getting hit with charges of kidnapping to commit a sexual act, sexual penetration of a person intoxicated and oral copulation this week for the horrifying assault in Santa Monica, authorities said.
“We entrust rideshare drivers with our safety, relying on their professionalism and integrity to provide safe transportation,” Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon said in a statement Wednesday.
“Individuals who perpetrate acts of violence, especially against those who rely on transportation services for their everyday needs, will be held accountable,” Gascon said.
According to Santa Monica cops, Morales picked up the passenger outside a West Hollywood restaurant after she booked a ride home.
The woman fell asleep on the ride home, and woke up to catch the driver molesting her, police said.
Morales allegedly offered to walk her to her door, which she refused — and realized she had been passed out for several hours after she got home.
Police launched an investigation into the woman’s claims and finally arrested Morales on Saturday — with prosecutors filing their charges on Wednesday.
In an email to The Post on Thursday a spokesperson for San Francisco-based Lyft called the alleged assault “reprehensible.”
“Upon learning of this incident we permanently banned the driver from the Lyft platform, contacted the rider to offer support and assisted law enforcement with their investigation,” the spokesperson wrote.