Current:Home > reviewsA Virginia woman delivering DoorDash was carjacked at gunpoint by an 11-year-old -ProfitEdge
A Virginia woman delivering DoorDash was carjacked at gunpoint by an 11-year-old
View
Date:2025-04-15 22:55:22
A woman was delivering a DoorDash order in Virginia when she said she was carjacked at gunpoint by an 11-year-old and a young adult.
Deon Smith, 40, told Scripps News Richmond she was making a delivery to an apartment complex in South Richmond after midnight on Nov. 30 when she was approached by two people.
"When I was going inside I saw two kids outside," Smith told the outlet. "The little one approached me. I was thinking he was asking for money or something, but little did I know he was pointing a gun at me asking for my keys."
Scripps News reported that Smith tried to de-escalate the situation with the child that she later learned was 11 years old.
"When he told me that he was going to shoot me I was like, 'Are you serious? You want to kill somebody at your age,'" she said. "I was asking, ‘Where is your mom?’ and ‘Why are you out here this time of night?’"
She had kept her car running as made the delivery, and as she was in an exchange with the 11-year-old, the older suspect got in her driver's seat and called out for the child to get in.
In a statement released to USA Today a DoorDash spokesperson said: “Helping Dashers feel safe and supported is a top priority. This violent behavior has absolutely no place on our platform. We have reached out to the Dasher to offer our support and are in contact with local law enforcement to assist their investigation in any way we can.”
The statement went on to emphasis that DoorDash has a 24/7 Trust & Safety team available to assist dashers or community members in emergency situations.
Carjacking's on the rise:FBI agent carjacked at gunpoint in Washington D.C. amid city's rise in stolen vehicles
Police say suspects crashed and totaled car
Smith, whose full-time job is as a home health care nurse said the pair told her to also get in but she refused. Instead, she called the police, who an hour later told her that her car had been involved in an accident and had been totaled.
According to a GoFundMe site made on her behalf by family members of patients Smith has looked after as a homecare nurse, Smith had paid her car off just two months prior. The GoFundMe is raising money to help Smith get to work.
"Because she currently has no car, she is unable to get to her jobs, which makes it challenging to support herself and her 10-year-old daughter. All money raised from this will go directly to Deon so she can get to jobs, and support herself and her daughter," the page said.
The Richmond Police Department did not respond to USA TODAY's request for comment but confirmed to Scripps News that two suspects, an 18-year-old and the 11-year-old were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after the crash.
They were discharged from the hospital and arrested. They face robbery charges.
Smith told Scripps News that she was just grateful to have survived the harrowing incident.
"Just pray and ask God to protect at all costs, just to keep life, because a car can be replaced, but you cannot be," she said.
veryGood! (18)
Related
- Alex Murdaugh’s murder appeal cites biased clerk and prejudicial evidence
- Beryl regains hurricane strength as it bears down on southern Texas
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Slow Burn (Freestyle)
- A green flag for clean power: NASCAR to unveil its first electric racecar
- Why members of two of EPA's influential science advisory committees were let go
- Hurricane watch issued for Beryl in Texas
- Is a great gas station bathroom the key to uniting a divided America?
- Who is Britain's new Prime Minister Keir Starmer, ushered to power by his Labour Party's election landslide?
- Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
- Keir Starmer becomes U.K. prime minister after his Labour Party wins huge majority in general election
Ranking
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Hi Hi!
- After Hurricane Beryl tears through Jamaica, Mexico, photos show destruction left behind
- MLB All-Star Game rosters: American League, National League starters, reserves, pitchers
- 2 Mississippi inmates captured after escape from prison
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- Crews search Lake Michigan for 2 Chicago-area men who went missing while boating in Indiana waters
- DeMar DeRozan joining Sacramento Kings in trade with Bulls, Spurs, per report
- Trump asks judge to halt documents case after Supreme Court immunity ruling
Recommendation
'Malcolm in the Middle’ to return with new episodes featuring Frankie Muniz
Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker Share a Sweet Moment at His Run Travis Run 5K Event
Stock market today: Asian stocks mostly fall, Euro drop on French election outcome
Judy Belushi Pisano, widow of 'SNL' icon John Belushi, dies at 73
IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
RHONY's Luann de Lesseps and Bethenny Frankel Reunite After Feuding
Biden assails Project 2025, a plan to transform government, and Trump’s claim to be unaware of it
Fiery railcars with hazardous material mostly contained after derailment in North Dakota