Ross Police charge former Lyft driver in 2-year-old rape case

Ross police charged a former Lyft driver Friday with rape in connection with a suspected incident involving two women in a McKnight Road hotel room.

Darrel Eugene Hardy, Jr., 30, was working as a Lyft driver July 1, 2017, when he drove two female passengers to the Hampton Inn Hotel on McKnight Road, police said in a statement.

Hardy allegedly followed the women to their room, police said. He was not invited, but they did allow him to enter the room, where he appeared to fall asleep in a chair, police said. The Ross Police Department did not disclose further details about what happened.

Hardy did not show up for an interview with Ross Police following the incident, and they later realized he left the country, the statement said.

By September 2018, Ross Police learned that Hardy was being held at Allegheny County Jail on unrelated charges. They were then able to obtain a search warrant for Hardy’s DNA, which matched a sample recovered from the victim after the 2017 assault, police said.

Hardy was charged with rape, sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault and indecent assault.

He is still lodged at Allegheny County Jail on charges in an unrelated homicide case in North Versailles.

Hardy is facing arson-related charges, along with homicide, carrying a firearm without a license and tampering with evidence. A jury trial is scheduled for Sept. 16.