PONTIAC, Mich. – The family of the Lyft driver that was killed in Pontiac is speaking out for the first time Monday.
The shooting occurred last Friday morning at Putnam Avenue and Rundell Street.
A memorial continues to grow for the Lyft driver shot and killed on the job. It could have happened to anyone. Unfortunately, it occurred to a woman whose loved ones say she did not deserve it.
“She wasn’t just a Lyft driver,” said ex-husband Johnny Terrell Jr. “She was a mother. She was a grandmother. She was an Aunt. She was a sister.”
You can see the pain a family is going through, coming to terms with the death of 49-year-old Dina May-Terrell after being shot in the back of the head by a passenger she was dropping off for Lyft.
“She was a graphic design artist,” Terrell Jr. said. “She was a bartender. She was a lot of things, and she did not deserve to go out this way,” Johnny added.
A 19-year-old man is in custody, accused of being the one who pulled the trigger. But it’s just not making sense for many family members. The motive behind all this remains a mystery.
“It don’t make any sense,” Terrell Jr. said. “They aren’t paid electronically. There’s no hand-to-hand cash anywhere. Why would he do this? I don’t get it. Robbery wasn’t a thing. Her jewelry was still on. Her purse was beside her. So, Why?”
Family members say the teen was picked up from a Walmart in Rochester Hills and was being dropped off at a location in Pontiac.
Local 4 has been told that May-Terrell was almost at the destination when she was shot at Putnam Avenue and Rundell Street. Her silver Nissan Versa crashed into a utility pole. A memorial now sits there in her honor as neighbors pay their respects.
The gunman took off after the shooting, but it wasn’t hard for investigators to piece together who they were looking for. He’s set to be charged, more than likely sometime Tuesday.
“Right now, my sons are inconsolable,” Terrell Jr. said. “They don’t want to speak. They just want to lay their mother to rest with respect, as well as the rest of her family.”
With May-Terrell being a mother of three and a grandmother of three, her family is having a hard time with her unexpected death. So far, they say no one from Lyft has reached out to help.
“Lyft hasn’t tried to reach out to us for anything, regardless of what they said,” Terrell Jr. said. “But when they do reach out to us, we don’t want their condolences and well wishes. We want help with burying her and putting her to rest with respect. That’s what we’re asking for.”
Lyft did not get back in touch with Local 4 to comment on the matter. However, those who want to help with May-Terrell’s burial expenses can click here.
Read: 19-year-old arrested after woman shot, killed while working as Lyft driver in Pontiac