Lyft car in accident in San Francisco, injuring pedestrian

Update at 4:31 p.m. Pacific: Lyft has confirmed one of its drivers was involved in the crash.

A Lyft car hit a pedestrian near Jackson and Larkin streets in San Francisco’s Nob Hill neighborhood, San Francisco’s ABC News affiliate reported in a tweet.

In a previous tweet, the news station reported that an Uber car was involved in the crash; it subsequently corrected that statement.

A passenger was in the vehicle when the Lyft driver got into the accident, a Lyft spokeswoman wrote in an email to VentureBeat:

We were informed today that a Lyft driver was in an accident involving a pedestrian while with a passenger. The driver let us know that the pedestrian is being treated for a leg injury. The safety of everyone on the road is our top priority and we’re sorry to hear that this happened. As we do with any safety reports, we’ve deactivated the driver as we collect more details.

The accident could spell trouble for the ride-sharing company, which lets people get rides from other individuals in exchange for fees. Other taxi alternatives, such as Uber, have faced political resistance in many cities, with one of the objections being that these companies amount to unregulated (and thus potentially unsafe) taxicabs.

An elderly woman’s leg was fractured in the crash, which happened at around 1:30 p.m., San Francisco Police Sgt. Eric O’Neal said in an interview with VentureBeat. The woman was taken to San Francisco General Hospital, O’Neal said. He did not have information about the type of vehicle involved.

The accident happened less than a mile from a crash involving an Uber driver that resulted in the death of a 6-year-old girl.