A Burnsville Lyft driver is accused of sexually assaulting an intoxicated woman as he drove her and her friend home from a bar, authorities say.

Ahmed Tawane Abdi, 39, faces one count of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct, according to the criminal complaint filed against him Thursday in Ramsey County District Court.

The charge stems from a ride Abdi gave a woman in her 20s on Aug. 5 of last year, authorities say.

The woman told police she and a male friend called a Lyft after leaving a Minneapolis bar around 1 a.m. that day, and Abdi was the driver who picked them up.

She was intoxicated and had started to fall asleep in the front passenger seat when Abdi started touching her as the vehicle was in the area of Interstate 35W and County Road D, according to the woman’s account to police, the complaint said.

She recalled pushing his hand away and falling asleep, authorities say. When she awoke, she told police Abdi’s hands were under her underwear, according to the complaint.

Alarmed, the woman said she texted her friend in the backseat and told him to call 911.

He didn’t, and Abdi continued driving them toward their destination on the 200 block of Wexford Drive in New Brighton.

When they got to the address, the woman told police that Abdi instructed her friend to get out of the car and then pulled forward with her still inside, the complaint said.

That’s when she said he tried to grope her a second time, prompting the woman to call 911 herself, authorities say.

Her call to authorities spooked Abdi, she told police, and he suddenly told her to get out of the car because he had to pick up other customers, the complaint said. Then she said he took off.

The woman’s friend verified to police that he had noticed Abdi’s hand on his friend’s vaginal area at some point during the ride, and confirmed that she texted instructing him to call 911, charges say.

He told police that he didn’t act on it because she never responded when he texted her back to ask if she was serious, the complaint said.

Police used Abdi’s license plate number to track him down.

When interviewed by officers, he acknowledged that he picked up the woman and her friend, but gave a different version of what happened, charges say.

He reportedly told police that the man and woman were very intoxicated when he picked them up and was surprised when the woman made the unusual choice of climbing in to the passenger seat, the complaint said.

He even went so far as to tell her to get in back instead, but she didn’t, Abdi told police.

During their drive, Abdi said he and the woman started talking and at one point he learned she’d been adopted.

“Oh, my God,” he told police he responded upon hearing the disclosure, adding that he reached his hand toward the woman at the time, the complaint said.

When asked if he touched the passenger, Abdi replied, “not intentionally,” charges say.

Abdi also disputed the woman’s claim that he kept her in the car after telling her friend to exit when he got to their address.

Physical evidence obtained from the woman’s underwear revealed a DNA mixture that matched two or more individuals, including Abdi, the complaint said.

A Lyft spokesperson issued the following response about the allegation:

“The incident described is horrific and our hearts go out to the passenger. We permanently banned the driver from our platform upon learning of the allegations, have been in contact with law enforcement regarding their investigation, and have been in touch with the passenger to extend our full support. The safety of our community is our top priority.”Adbi is expected to make his first court appearance in December.

No attorney was listed for him in court records and Abdi could not be reached for comment.

Only minor traffic infractions were found on his criminal record in Minnesota.