3 SF men arrested in beating of Lyft driver on Highway 101

The California Highway Patrol arrested three men Wednesday in connection with the March assault of a Lyft driver, officials said. The California Highway Patrol arrested three men Wednesday in connection with the March assault of a Lyft driver, officials said. Photo: CHP Photo: CHP Image 1 of / 52 Caption Close 3 SF men arrested in beating of Lyft driver on Highway 101 1 / 52 Back to Gallery

Three men were arrested on suspicion of being part of a dirt-bike mob that surrounded a Lyft car on Highway 101 in San Francisco in March and viciously beat the driver on the freeway in front of passing motorists, who recorded the attack on cell phones, officials said Friday.

The three suspects, all San Francisco residents, were arrested during simultaneous raids on their homes early Wednesday morning, according to the California Highway Patrol.

They were identified as 33-year-old Derwayne A. Johnson, 25-year-old Gabriel Rodriguez and 19-year-old Jarrell E. Williams Jr.

A fourth suspect, 22-year-old Quintrell Anderson of San Francisco, was not home when police raided his residence and is still being sought, said Officer Vu Williams, a CHP spokesman.

During the search of the homes, officers found multiple firearms, a stolen dirt bike, cash and drugs, CHP officials said in a statement released Friday.

The Lyft driver, Alex Quintana of Modesto, was headed to the airport to pick up a passenger March 8 when a group of more than a dozen men surrounded his car near the Cesar Chavez Street exit of southbound Highway 101 and began hitting the vehicle’s mirrors and windows, officials said. When the driver got out of his car to confront the bikers, several pummeled him to the ground.

He was taken to San Francisco General Hospital with a broken leg, his sister said.

Before the incident, the dirt-bike riders had been popping wheelies on the highway and causing traffic delays, CHP officers said shortly after the incident.

The four men whose homes were raided were the most egregious offenders caught on video of the incident, according to Williams.

“These are the four we saw on video who actually attacked the driver, struck him, knocked him to the ground,” Williams said.

He added that investigators believe Johnson ran over Quintana’s leg, breaking it.

All three men were booked into San Francisco County Jail, according to CHP.

“The suspects were identified after an extensive investigation where CHP officers reviewed the videos of this incident taken by passing motorists,” the CHP statement reads.

San Francisco police officers who had previous contact with the three suspects helped CHP investigators identify them, officials said.

“This was a horrifying and frightening incident. Such violence has no place in our society. We’re thankful to law enforcement for their work to apprehend these suspects,” Lyft spokesman Scott Coriell said in a statement.

The suspects are facing charges of assault with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit a crime, assault, battery, vandalism and possession of stolen property and a controlled substance.

Filipa Ioannou is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: fioannou@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @obioannoukenobi