Woman reports being kidnapped while trying to use ride-share

BOSTON — A woman who thought she was getting into a ride-sharing service car was kidnapped by the driver in Boston early Sunday morning and taken on a 30-minute drive before being able to escape at a gas station near the New Hampshire border, police said.

Police said a woman in her 20s, whom they did not identify, tried to order a Lyft ride home from a city bar at about 1 a.m.

The woman's cell phone battery died after ordering the ride. A group of men later pointed her toward a car she believed was the Lyft ride and she got in, police said. But instead of driving her home to the Allston section of Boston, the driver took her on a half-hour drive north.

The car stopped at a gas station and another man tried to grab her through the back window, police said. She was able to kick open the door and run away, then flagged down another motorist who took her home, authorities said.

The woman said she wasn't hurt.

No arrests have been made. Police said they were investigating.

It’s not clear whether the driver was actually a ride-share service employee.

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