Garland police are investigating the carjacking of a Lyft driver over the weekend.

Police say the man was driving for Lyft Saturday night when a group of guys held him at gunpoint and took his car. That same car was then involved in a police chase in Dallas late Monday night.

The driver is glad his car has been found. He’s now hopeful police are close to identifying who was responsible for pointing a gun at his head as he was just trying to make a few extra dollars.

Many who drive for ride-share services like Lyft or Uber take joy in the encounters. Jacob Meager also enjoys the reason he's doing it in the first place.

“I recently got married in August,” he said. “She is going to school right now. Medical school. I'm trying to help her get through and pay bills.”

So when Meager got off work from one job Saturday, he logged on to drive for Lyft. His first ride took him to the Centerville Point Apartments off Duck Creek Drive in Garland.


“I had just put my car in park, and that's when he knocked on the window,” he recalled. “That's normal. Like, ‘Hey, are you the Lyft driver?'”

Only meager says the guy didn't ask for a Lyft driver. He asked the time. And when meager looked, he says the guy pointed a gun at his head.

“I was basically just trying to cooperate with him. Be as calm as possible,” Meager said. “I'm married. I have a wife, and I wanted to be able to just get through.”

Meager says the guy ordered him out, took his wallet and his phone inside the car. He says two other guys got in and drove the car off.

“What he did, complying and getting out of the car, based on their demands he did everything right,” said Garland Police Lt. Pedro Barineau.

Garland police started investigating the carjacking. They spread word to other agencies to look for Meager's car until Dallas police spotted it in South Dallas on South Ewing Street late Monday night.

After a short pursuit and foot chase, Dallas police caught two 15-year-olds and a 16-year-old. At this point, it's unclear if they were also involved in the carjacking.

“Our detectives are still going to try to identify who was the person who pulled the gun and tried to rob the victim,” Barineau said.

Meager isn't spiteful. But he's hopeful police figure out who took from him as he was just trying to support his wife.

“Of course, it’s wrong,” he said. “I want them to be able to have consequences for that. But I hope that they find some solutions to their problems and I hope it doesn't happen to anyone else again.”

Police say they don't have any reason to believe he was targeted because he was a Lyft driver or lured there by the carjackers. In fact, police have been in touch with a person who had requested a ride from meager Saturday and say she witnessed part of what unfolded.

Lyft released the following statement late Tuesday night: