Florida surgeon arrested driving Lyft on manslaughter charge

A Florida surgeon accused of causing a patient's death by removing the wrong organ during surgery was arrested on April 13 while driving passengers for Lyft in Miramar Beach.

Deputies from the Walton County Sheriff's Office pulled over Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky, 44, at a busy intersection, approaching his Mitsubishi SUV with weapons drawn in a felony stop. Body camera footage shows Shaknovsky, who used his middle name Jacob on his Lyft profile, informing officers he had two women in the backseat. "May I ask what this is about?" he asked. A deputy replied that it was for a second-degree manslaughter charge. The passengers, vacationers picked up from their hotel, emerged shaken, with one saying the scene "scared the crap out of us" as they initially feared a robbery. The other joked, "We're not using Lyft again. From now on, we're using Uber."

Shaknovsky had driven for Lyft for over a year, completing more than 3,000 rides with a five-star rating. Lyft removed him from the platform upon learning of the arrest and offered support to the passengers. Officials noted he had been indicted a week earlier and given time to surrender voluntarily. He was released on $75,000 bond and is...