From day care providers to school bus drivers, California regulations require fingerprints and extensive criminal background checks for almost any worker who may be left alone with kids. But those same requirements do not apply to ride-hailing apps like Uber and Lyft, which have become popular with teens.

To help keep kids safe, the state’s Public Utilities Commission relies on the companies to enforce their own policies that prohibit drivers from picking up underage riders traveling alone.

But as the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit uncovered, those rules are ignored every day, potentially putting thousands of kids at risk.

One Peninsula teenager said she learned about the risks firsthand during an Uber ride home last February. She said her driver made sexual passes after she told him she was only 16.

“He started randomly asking me weird sexual questions,” she said. “He was asking me if I was a virgin; if I wasn’t. How old I was when I lost my virginity.”

She asked NBC Bay Area to hide her identity out of fear of further harassment. She said she tried to ignore the driver’s questions until he pulled over on the freeway and asked her to move into the front seat. Feeling alone and scared, she complied.

When the driver finally reached her home the teen said his last words to her made her stomach turn.

“He’s like, ‘Is it wrong that I have a boner right now,’” she said, “and he looked down at his pants and it was really out there. It was disgusting.”

When she contacted Uber the next morning, the company apologized and refunded her fare. Then Uber kicked her off the app, citing customer terms of service that requires all riders to be at least 18 to sign up or ride alone.

With no access to her account, she had no idea who allegedly harassed her and whether he continued to drive.

San Mateo Police Sgt. Amanda Von Glahn said investigators couldn’t find him either. Uber, like many companies, requires a subpoena before it will release a driver’s name to law enforcement. But Von Glahn said police could not obtain a search warrant because the teen’s allegations amount to a misdemeanor and not a felony.

“It’s frustrating that we can’t take that next step,” she said.

The teen and her family are now suing Uber, citing “negligent hiring and supervising.” But the company contends that the driver is an independent contractor, not an employee. As part of the lawsuit, Uber revealed the driver’s name in court last month, and police are now investigating.

Uber declined an interview request but pointed to its guidelines, stating customers must be at least 18 to sign up or ride alone. A company spokesman said drivers and riders who violate the guidelines “risk losing access” to Uber.

Uber’s main competitor, Lyft, also prohibits unaccompanied minors from using the platform and encourages drivers to cancel rides from kids traveling alone. Those in violation can be “permanently banned,” a Lyft spokesperson told NBC Bay Area.

PROTECTING KIDS

The Peninsula girl’s story is just one of a string of claims from teenagers who allege they were sexually harassed or assaulted while using a ride-hailing app.

Both Uber and Lyft prohibit drivers from picking up minors as part of a compromise with the California Public Utilities Commission. The CPUC requires ride-hailing companies that primarily transport kids to fingerprint their drivers and conduct expensive criminal background checks that include searching child abuse records.

Uber and Lyft fought against imposing those mandates to their background checks, arguing that it’s not necessary because their apps are meant for adults. The CPUC relies on the companies themselves to enforce the policies prohibiting unaccompanied minors from using their services.

But Joanna McFarland, the founder of Hop Skip Drive, a ride-hailing company designed specifically for kids, said she believes every driver who picks up kids should be fingerprinted.

“When driving kids, the bar is higher,” McFarland said, adding, “We have driven hundreds of thousands of children. I think given the scale of several rideshare companies, it’s certainly possible they are driving vast numbers of unaccompanied minors.”

LYFT AND UBER AS THE NEW SCHOOL BUS

While Uber and Lyft guidelines say drivers aren’t supposed to transport kids, NBC Bay Area found some drivers are breaking the rules. The Investigative Unit went undercover near schools and malls across the Bay Area and recorded more than a dozen ride-hailing drivers willing to take underage riders.

NBC Bay Area spoke with one man who drives for both Uber and Lyft who turns down ride requests from minors up to 10 times a week. Mike told NBC Bay Area that he suspects the companies are turning a blind eye to the growing number of kids using their apps and the drivers willing to take them.

“It just takes one time, one incident, and it’s a tragedy,” Mike said. “Regulators need to make sure riders and drivers get the education that this is not acceptable.”

CPUC STRUGGLES TO REGULATE RIDE-HAILING

Commissioner Liane Randolph expressed concern in 2016 that rideshare companies “may be transporting unaccompanied minors.” The CPUC is now considering whether additional regulations are necessary, but hasn’t taken any concrete action.

Nick Zanjani, the head of the agency’s Consumer Protection and Enforcement Division, said the commission intends to debate how to best protect minors using ride-hailing apps in upcoming meetings.

“I think it’s a great idea to tee this important issue up in the context of the proceeding,” he said. “I’m looking forward to seeing the comments that are received and seeing what rules and regulations we can develop.”

In the meantime, Uber and Lyft told NBC Bay Area they encourage drivers to report underage riders to their 24-hour support lines so they can take appropriate action. Lyft will not penalize drivers for canceling minors, according to the company. Last week, Lyft sent an alert to drivers reminding them to decline underage riders.

Mike said it was the first alert he received from the company since he started driving a year ago.

If you have a tip for the Investigative Unit email theunit@nbcbayarea.com or call 888-996-TIPS. Follow Liz on Facebook and Twitter. 

The Hartford Yard Goats Baseball Club is looking to fill positions and will hold a job fair on Feb. 17.

The Yard Goats said they are looking for applicants to fill a wide range of game-day positions and they want upbeat, fan-friendly people.

The job fair will be at Dunkin’ Donuts Park, 1214 Main St. in Hartford, on Saturday, Feb. 17, from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m.

Personnel from both the Yard Goats and the food and beverage provider, Professional Sports Catering, will speak with and receive applications from all job-seekers.

In all, the two organizations will staff an average of 300 positions each year, including ushers, ticket takers, box office personnel, merchandising, housekeeping, grounds crew, concessions, kitchen personnel and catering.

The Hartford Yard Goats will open the 2018 season on Thursday, April 5 with a 7:05 p.m. game at Dunkin’ Donuts Park against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.

There's been a lot of talk about whether quarterback Tom Brady or even head coach Bill Belichick could walk away after this season.

Following a crushing 41-33 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl, that speculation is likely to continue.

But while Brady attempted to put an end to the talk after Sunday's game, tight end Rob Gronkowski refused to rule out retirement when asked about it at the postgame podium.

"I’m definitely going to look at my future, for sure," he said. "I’ll sit down in the next couple of weeks and see where I’m at."

Gronkowski was knocked out of the AFC title game against the Jacksonville Jaguars with a concussion, and has suffered numerous other injuries throughout his career.

He played just eight games last season and missed the Patriots' entire playoff run after undergoing season-ending back surgery.

The Philadelphia Eagles brought the Vince Lombardi Trophy back to Philadelphia Monday afternoon.

Shouts and screams could be heard coming through a chain link fence where hundreds of fans waited for the team to arrive. 

A chorus of cheering erupted when Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie held up the trophy for all to see, eventually passing it to head coach Doug Pederson.

Even the players could be seen shouting and celebrating with the crowd, thanking everyone for their support throughout the season.

The Eagles will now board buses to the NovaCare Complex in South Philly. Portions of Interstate 95 and Broad Street are closed to allow the team's caravan to pass.

The city is preparing a victory parade for Thursday. And they've officially closed all schools so students, teachers and families can celebrate Philadelphia's first-ever Super Bowl win.

Stay with NBC10 for continuous coverage of the team's triumphant return to Philadelphia.

Court documents reveal additional information about an inmate’s escape from prison in Enfield last month, including his trip to Burger King and his call to his mother claiming he has been released from prison and needed a ride. They also say the prison hung up on the inmate’s mother when she called the facility after suspecting something was wrong.

Jerry Mercado, 25, was serving a three-year sentence for burglary when he managed to escape from the Robinson Correctional Institution in Enfield on Sunday, Jan. 7.

Court documents say video footage revealed that he fled through an unlocked door of his dorm unit and scaled a fence to the roof at 11:56 a.m.

Police said it appeared that he stowed away under one of the two vehicles that were on the property.

Video from 17 minutes later showed Mercado walking down Shaker Road in prison-assigned attire – tan pants, a grey sweatshirt and white shoes , according to police.

More video showed Mercado inside the dining area of a Burger King in Enfield at 1 p.m., where a stranger bought Mercado lunch and allowed him to use a cell phone, according to court records.

Mercado called his mother and said he’d been released from prison and needed a ride from the Enfield Burger King, according to court records.

Mercado’s mother picked him up around 2 p.m., took him for a change of clothing and dropped him off in Hartford, according to police. But when he was getting out of the car, Mercado said something that made his mother suspicious. He said he loved her and had done something wrong, according to court records.

It was not until 3 p.m. that prison staff realized that Mercado was missing, according to the arrest warrant application.

Nearly an hour later, Mercado’s mother placed a call to the prison, but the person who answered the phone said there was an emergency at the facility and hung up before she could provide her son’s name, according to court records.

Other family mothers realized that Mercado was not due to be released until 2019 and that there were news reports of the escape.

Mercado’s mother then reached out to Hartford police at 5:24 p.m. to report the incident, according to police.

Days passed before U.S. Marshals found Mercado on Jan. 17 in the Atlanta suburb of Canton, Georgia and detained him. He has been brought back to Connecticut and charged with escape in the first degree and bond was set at $500,000.

He is due in court Tuesday.

Five Connecticut DOC employees were placed on administrative leave amid the investigation into the escape.

President Donald Trump called Democrats' stone-faced reaction to his State of the Union address "treasonous" and "un-American" during a visit to a manufacturing plant in Cincinnati, Ohio, Monday, NBC News reported.

Trump described Republicans "going totally crazy wild" during his State of the Union remarks one week ago, while Democrats remained seated and stone-faced for the majority of the speech. "They were like death," Trump lamented. "And un-American. Un-American."

But the reaction, he said, was also something much worse.

Vaguely noting that "someone" called the Democratic reactions "'treasonous,'" Trump said he agreed. "I mean, yeah, I guess. Why not?...Can we call that treason? Why not? I mean, they certainly didn’t seem to love our country very much."

Route 6 in Columbia is closed after a pedestrian was struck by a car. 

Police said Route 6 in the area of Oakwood Lan is closed while they investigate the crash. 

LifeStar responded to the scene but details on injuries have not been released. 

No other information was immediately available. 

Police have arrested a man suspected in a hit-and-run on Vine Street in Hartford on Jan. 16 that killed two women.

Police said Monday that they have arrested 24-year-old Nathaniel Jefferson and that he admitted to driving the car and fleeing the scene.

Jefferson is accused of hitting 25-year-old Tina Fontanez, of Hartford, and 23-year-old Catalina Melendez, also of Hartford, who had just gotten out of a cab, at 9:53 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 16, police said.

Fontanez was pronounced dead and Melendez was in critical condition at St. Francis Hospital. She was pronounced dead at 6 p.m. Jan. 23, according to police.

The vehicle involved in the crash was recovered near the intersection of Bethel and Guilford streets.

Police viewed video footage and identified a suspect. During the interview, Jefferson admitted to being the driver of the vehicle when it struck Fontanez and Melendez and admitted to leaving the scene of the crash, according to police.

Jefferson was charged with two counts of second-degree manslaughter, two counts of evading responsibility with death, evading responsibility, reckless driving, traveling too fast for conditions, failure to drive in proper lane and operating with suspended license.

He is being held on a $1 million judge-set bond.

Police also charged the registered owner of the car, 25-year-old Lorenzo Ivery, of Hartford. They said he contacted police to report the vehicle stolen, but investigators determined that Ivery was in the car, based on evidence, including auto glass in his hair and clothing.

He was charged with false statement, second-degree hindering prosecution and owner liability. At his arraignment he was also charged with evading a motor vehicle accident with a death.

Police stopped a man who they said was driving without headlights in Orange last Tuesday night and arrested the passenger when officers realized that the man who said he was a training officer with Homeland Security was impersonating an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent, according to police.

Officers stopped a 53-year-old New Haven man on Boston Post Road just before 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 30 because the headlights were not on and saw the passenger, 37-year-old Scott Gilmore, of Milford, who was wearing clothing and equipment that identified him as an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agent, police said.

Officers also saw real and facsimile firearms in the backseat of the vehicle and knives as well as survival and surveillance equipment inside the vehicle.

Gilmore told officers he was a training officer with Homeland Security/ICE, but later admitted he bought the equipment and clothing on the internet and was not a law enforcement officer, police said. 

Officers took Gilmore into custody and charged him with impersonating an officer, interfering with an officer and weapons in a motor vehicle.

The driver was charged with operating a motor vehicle while under suspension and driving without headlights.

Gilmore was released after posting $5,000 bond and is due in court on Feb. 13.

Police recovered a body found along the shore in Old Lyme on Monday, troopers said. 

Troopers were notified about the deceased person found along the shore in the area of Hatchett's Point around 3 p.m.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is conducting a post-mortem to identify the person and indicate the cause of death. 

Anyone who may have additional information is asked to call state police at (860) 399-2100 or text TIP711 and the information to 274637.

Students at Stonington High School are saying it’s steep to pay $100 to park at school, so one student is leading the charge to change the price tag.

Student government president Madison Geiger, a senior at Stonington High School and student representative for the school board, is talking with the Board of Education to fix the fee. 

"A lot of it’s the principle of it. I don’t want to pay $100 to park at my school, where my parents pay their tax dollars for me to go here," Geiger said.

The $100 fee was initiated years ago, at a time the board of education had financial issues and was thinking of cutting freshman sports. It was a way to offset too many reductions, Superintendent Dr. Van Riley said.

There’s no line item for that money in the budget, Riley added.

The parking fees make up just .03 percent of the $38 million proposed school budget.

"You get your license, you’re hit with those costs, gas, insurance, your car and then the school tacks on another $100," Geiger said.

Riley said he’s in favor of a cost reduction. A staff member is retiring from a clerical position and the district will be able to fill the roll with a part-time employee since the middle schools are consolidating. The money saved would offset the parking fee, the superintendent said.

Geiger polled more than 300 students asking if they’re in favor of reducing the parking spot fees to $25, $5 or free. Sixty-one percent of students voted for the $25 cost.

"The money’s going to go back to kids who can’t afford field trips and who aren’t as fortunate as some of us in this school and with overwhelming support that is the option that was chosen," Geiger said.

The Board of Education is voting on the district’s 2018-2019 budget at their meeting Thursday night. Geiger’s proposal will be voted on then, too.

NBC Connecticut contacted schools in the area. East Lyme High School charges students a parking fee of $50, Ledyard High School charges students a parking fee of $25, while Groton, New London and North Stonington Schools have no cost for students to park.

When you rip open a bag of chips, do you start munching and crunching until you’ve eaten every last crumb ... or do you savor that bag and quietly eat each chip with care?

Your gender may determine just how you go about snacking on certain foods, according to the CEO of one of the world's largest food companies. Men and women often have different snacking habits, says Indra Nooyi, the CEO of PepsiCo, the parent company of snack brands like Lays, Cheetos, Doritos, Ruffles and Fritos.

In a recent interview with Freakonomics that’s been making headlines, Nooyi said there can be a gender divide when it comes to snacking preferences. She used Doritos as an example.

“As you watch a lot of the young guys eat the chips, they love their Doritos, and they lick their fingers with great glee, and when they reach the bottom of the bag they pour the little broken pieces into their mouth,” she said.

“Women would love to do the same, but they don’t. They don’t like to crunch too loudly in public. And they don’t lick their fingers generously and they don’t like to pour the little broken pieces and the flavor into their mouth.”

Nooyi went on to say that PepsiCo is looking into how snacks can be tailored, marketed and packaged differently for women. A lot of people took this to mean that Frito-Lay might be developing a new "Doritos For Her" snack item, so naturally the internet had a field day.

Gun safety advocates say Connecticut already has the second toughest gun laws in the nation. With the legislative session about to begin in Hartford this week, some lawmakers want to make them even tougher by banning bump stocks and so-called "ghost guns."

Massachusetts and New Jersey have already banned bump stocks since 58 concertgoers died and hundreds more were injured in the Las Vegas mass shooting last October. Investigators say the gunman modified his weapons with bump stocks to make them fire like they are automatic weapons.

"There is no legitimate reason to have a bump stock," Jeremy Stein, executive director of Connecticut Against Gun Violence, said. "It is not used for hunting, it is not used for self-defense."

The co-chair of the Judiciary Committee Rep. William Tong announced Monday afternoon the plan to introduce legislation outlawing bump stocks and ghost guns in Connecticut.

"It has no serial number, it is not registered," Tong said of ghost guns at a news conference in New Haven. "This is a real threat to our communities."

Ghost guns are partially completed weapons that can be purchased without a background check. Owners finish the assembly to make them working firearms at home.

"Now this source of gun is particularly attractive to people who can’t legally acquire guns in our state," Stein said.

The gunman in the November 2017 mass shooting in Northern California bi-passed a court order to prohibit him from having guns by building at home two of the four weapons used in the rampage.

"It’s quite shocking to me that number one that you’d want to do this and second that you would be able to build your own gun," Carol Wade from New Haven told NBC Connecticut after the news conference.

In voicing opposition to these proposed laws, President of the Connecticut Citizens Defense League Scott Wilson cited an NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters report that found charges for stealing a gun were dropped more than 70 percent of the time over the last five years.

"Instead of politicians having the fortitude to impose harsher penalties for violent criminals and possession of a firearm by prohibited persons, society gets more "feel good legislation," Wilson said in a statement to NBC Connecticut. "The recent report published by the Office of Legislative Research demonstrates that too many felony gun charges are simply reduced or dismissed altogether, and therein lies the real problem. Our lawmakers are simply not sending the proper message to criminals. instead, they are passing more laws that will accomplish nothing of substance."

Last month, Governor Dannel Malloy announced his support for a bump stock ban.

The General Assembly’s legislative session begins on Wednesday.

A Massachusetts man was killed in a crash on Route 2 in Colchester on Monday. 

Edward Thomas, of Hadley, Massachusetts, was driving a Pontiac Grand Am east on Route 2 near exit 21 just before 4 p.m.

The 45-year-old driver lost control of his car and went off the roadway to the left shoulder and ended up in an embankment before hitting some small trees and bushes, state troopers said. 

The Pontiac went through the median and caused significant damage to the car before stopping. 

Thomas was the only person in the car and Lifestar flew him to Hartford Hospital. He was later pronounced dead. 

The crash is under investigation. 

Gov. Dannel Malloy has unveiled a series of revisions to balance out the budget, and one of them includes a proposal for a deposit on liquor and wine purchases.

The governor’s office says by adding a bottle deposit of 25 cents to liquor and wine in addition to the one we already pay could generate millions for the state.

Right now, Connecticut is one of a handful of states where there’s a 5-cent deposit fee added to the price of any bottled water, beer or carbonated beverage.

The 25-cent deposit for wine and liquor proposal was just released as part of the governor’s “Restoring Balance to Fly 2019” plan and is one of 11 major revenue changes proposed. The governor’s office says these are minor revisions that would balance out the budget and reduce the year’s budget gaps by half.

The office says adding this deposit could raise about $13 million in the 2019 fiscal year. Connecticut’s original bottle bill became effective in 1980.

Some residents who spoke with NBC Connecticut said this amounts to yet another tax on Connecticut residents, but it may be unavoidable.

We already pay so many taxes in Connecticut. I guess it’s not that big a deal because it’s such a small tax,” said Reed Bobroff of New Haven.

“We’ve got to find money to right the ship. There are certainly other ways to do it. But they’re going to use whatever tools are at their disposal and I guess we’re their tools,” said Grant Faber of New Haven.

Note that the proposal is for deposits, so consumers can get their money back by returning and reclaiming their deposit.

For more on the budget proposal, click here.

Gov. Dannel Malloy is looking for ways to keep more money in Connecticut taxpayers’ pockets when it comes to how much they pay the federal government.

That’s part of his budget adjustment plan laid out Monday afternoon.

The idea is to allow cities and towns to form charitable organizations and then have local taxpayers make donations there, rather than direct property tax payments.

The hope, according to the Malloy administration, is for wealthier residents who itemize to be able to deduct that payment as a charitable donation, which under the new tax law would lead to less money being paid to Washington.

Republicans say they don’t think the plan will be legal, while the governor says the state has an obligation to help residents when it comes to the new tax law.

“That is a scheme that I find very objectionable because the risk is going to be on the taxpayers. If we enable it and municipalities do it and someone gets called by the IRS that you owe it, it’s going to be up to that individual to fight the IRS,” said GOP President Pro Tem. Len Fasano (R).

“It would be unreasonable for us as a state to not propose ways to assist our taxpayers so we are proposing ways that under current law would assist our taxpayers,” said Malloy (D).

The budget proposal does include revenue collected by higher gas taxes, and reduces payments to city and town aid.

The proposal has 11 revenue changes that the governor says would reduce our budget gaps by half.

Now that House and Senate Democrats have this information, they will meet Tuesday to lay out their agenda for the 2018 session.

For more on the budget, click here.

State police are on Smith Lane in Burlington, where they are investigating a death. 

They said the person who died is elderly, but called the case an “untimely death.” 

No additional information was immediately available. 

Check back for updates.

After releasing graphic video of an assault on Post Road East on Oct. 24, police said they have arrested three suspects in the case.

Officers responded to the area of 550 Post Road East around 9 a.m. on Oct. 24 to investigate a fight and found two men who had been involved in a crash fighting in the middle of the road, police said.

As they investigated, police determined that the incident began in Derby. Derby police said a resident on Prospect Street reported that a man showed up at his home and assaulted him with a hammer. Then, the resident followed his attacker into Westport, where they crashed their vehicles and the assault took place.

Police said this was not a random attack and that the victims knew each other, but the motive for the attack was unclear.

Three men have now been arrested.

Fernando Morales, 41, of Derby, was charged with second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, and breach of peace.

Rafael Valle, 34, of Bridgeport, faces a reckless endangerment charge.

Video shows another man pull up in a third vehicle, kick one of the men, who was on the ground, then get back into his car and drive off, police said.

Police have now arrested Jose Alvarado, 41, of Bridgeport. He has been charged with second-degree assault. He was released after posting $25,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Norwalk Court on Feb. 13.

The Indianapolis Colts have hired Josh McDaniels as their coach.

The hiring of the New England Patriots' offensive coordinator was announced Tuesday on the Colts' Twitter account. It comes a little more than three weeks after word leaked the sides were close to a deal.

Contract terms were not immediately available. A news conference has been scheduled for Wednesday.

McDaniels is the second Patriots assistant to leave since their Super Bowl loss. The Lions announced Monday that they had hired Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia as their head coach.

McDaniels was New England's offensive coordinator the past five years. NFL rules prohibited the Colts from making the hiring official until the Patriots' season ended. New England lost 41-33 to Philadelphia in Sunday's Super Bowl.

He won five Super Bowl rings with New England and went 11-17 as Denver's head coach in 2009 and 2010.