Lyft driver charged with raping passenger in 2017
Suspect also accused in 2018 homicide
A 30-year-old North Versailles man who is already facing a homicide charge is now accused of raping a woman while he was working as a Lyft driver.
Ross police believe Darrel E. Hardy Jr. raped the woman in July 2017 — about a year before he is accused of killing a 28-year-old man in North Versailles.
Investigators believe two women used the ride-hailing service Lyft to get a ride to their hotel after they spent the night of July 1, 2017, drinking in Lawrenceville. Both women realized they were too drunk to drive and instead decided to take a Lyft to a hotel room for the night, according to a criminal complaint.
Mr. Hardy was their driver, and he brought them to a Hampton Inn on McKnight Road, Ross police said in a statement. Mr. Hardy then followed the women to their room, according to the complaint.
The women did not invite Mr. Hardy to the room but also did not tell him to leave, according to the complaint. Both women then fell asleep, fully clothed. The women told police they believe Mr. Hardy also fell asleep in a chair.
One of the women woke up sometime later to find Mr. Hardy on top of her, trying to kiss her, according to the complaint. She said her underwear was around her knees and her tampon had been removed.
She screamed at Mr. Hardy to get off her, and he left, according to the complaint. The woman then called 911.
Afterward, Mr. Hardy left the country and did not return until
March 2018, police said, and investigators were unable to contact him while he was over- seas.
In July
2018, Mr. Hardy was charged with homicide in the death of 28-year-old Zack Moore, who was found shot alongside East Pittsburgh McKeesport Boulevard in North Versailles on July 8.
Police believe Mr. Hardy shot Mr. Moore while they were in a car together and then set the car on fire in an attempt to hide evidence, according to a criminal complaint.
That case is still pending, and Mr. Hardy is being held in the Allegheny County Jail without bond.
Ross police interviewed Mr. Hardy in September about the alleged assault, and he claimed to have no memory of the incident.
Police collected his DNA and found it matched DNA that was collected from the victim of the assault.
Mr. Hardy was charged Tuesday with rape, sexual assault, indecent assault and aggravated indecent assault in connection with the incident at the Hampton Inn, according to court records.