For two months after he was accused of raping a passenger, an Austin man continued to pick up passengers for at least one major ride-hailing company in Central Texas, the American-Statesman has learned.

Osmani Limonta Diaz, 40, was driving for local ride-hailing nonprofit RideAustin when he was accused of raping a female passenger in the back of his blue Dodge Dart on June 10. Diaz was arrested on a sexual assault charge on Oct. 13.

When police made RideAustin aware of the allegations against Diaz within a few weeks of the alleged incident, RideAustin "deactivated (the driver) from the RideAustin platform as well as proactively notified the other rideshare platforms that the driver was known to work," the nonprofit said on Oct. 16.

Diaz, however, continued to drive for ride-hailing company Lyft until early August and remained registered as an active driver for Lyft until about Oct. 16, when the rape allegations became public, according to Lyft spokesman Scott Coriell.

Coriell said Lyft was never told about the allegations against Diaz during the investigation. The company only learned of the allegations through media reports when Diaz was formally charged, he said.

Diaz’s case points to a safety concern some critics have raised about the ride-hailing industry: Even after drivers clear pre-employment background checks, how do ride-hailing companies know when an active driver has been accused of a crime?

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