MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Jose Gonzalez's lip is ripped. His face is badly bruised, and his forehead was pierced with a woman’s high-heel shoe.
Gonzalez said he was recently wrapping up a night of partying on South Beach when he got into a shared ride on a Lyft. He said he sat in the front seat.
A woman, who was a passenger seating in the back, was complaining about having to wait to be dropped off. Gonzalez, who was set to be dropped off first, said she shouted, "f------ gays" and punched and kicked him.
The driver asked her to get out of the car and he dropped him off at home in North Miami Beach. Miami Beach police detectives are investigating the attack that left his face covered in blood.
"I'm still, like, in shock," Gonzalez said. "I can't believe it."
Lyft deactivated the user accused in the attack and reached out to Gonzalez to offer their support after what the "incredibly disturbing" incident, the company said in a statement.
"We stand ready to assist law enforcement in any investigation," the statement said. "Lyft has a strict anti-discrimination policy, which can be seen here. Violation of this policy can and does lead to a permanent ban from Lyft's service."
When asked what he would say to the woman who attacked him, Gonzalez said, "I cannot understand why."