Ride-share Company Not Helping Driver Whose Car Was Stolen And Crashed Mid-Ride

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A Frankfort man is out thousands of dollars after his Lyft passengers took off with his car and crashed it.

He says the ride-share company isn't helping him pay for damages even though he was mid-ride when the incident began.

An old Snapchat video is all Blake Nance has left of his car. It was so much more than a ride for the single dad. The 2006 Lincoln also paid his bills.

"I'm out of luck, a car, a job, income," Nance said.

Nance drives for Lyft. His last pickup was near the Walgreens on 115th and Halsted just before Christmas. Three women piled in and chose a Supersave as their first stop.

"We got to the gas station and I get out, one of the passengers gets out," Nance said. "Go inside, come back outside after paying for gas and my car was gone."

18 hours later investigators had a lead.

"They had found my car," he said. "They blew a stop sign. They were involved in an accident with somebody else. My car got totaled."

Now his stolen and smashed source of income sits in the pound and Nance says he's stuck.

"Lyft had told me they weren't going to pay for any of the damages done to my car," he said.

Towing and storage fees are adding up, too.

"I was under the impression that since I was on the clock, even though I have liability, I should be fully covered through Lyft," he said.

"The rideshare companies do a really poor job of explaining the insurance implications to drivers," attorney Bryant Greening said.

Greening represents Lyft and Uber drivers through his law firm LegalRideShare.

He says Nance's saga is unfortunately common and that the ride-share companies usually don't pay up unless a driver also has collision coverage.

"As this driver unfortunately found out, there are tons of intricacies and loopholes that need to be told to the driver before they ever get behind the wheel," Greening said.

"It was pretty much I had the insurance, I signed up and I was ready to go," Nance said. "They never broke down anything involving insurance policies or anything like that. I don't feel that it's fair that I have to pay out of pocket for everything.

As the debt in this cautionary tale adds up, so does the bad luck. If Nance doesn't pick up his car from the tow lot soon, city rules state it could be trashed or sold at an auction.

Lyft tells CBS 2 it is still reviewing Nance's case and determining if and how they can assist him.