An Uber Eats driver was purportedly killed and dismembered after making his finishing up a delivery on April 19 in Holiday, Florida. An MS-13 gang member has been arrested and charged with murder in the death of the driver, per NBC News. The incident has sparked discussion on delivery driver safety, which has been covered by major news outlets and concerned drivers on social media alike.
One TikToker who posts under the handle @disgruntleddriver uploaded a clip blasting delivery app companies for threatening the safety of drivers and blaming the aforementioned Uber Eats driver’s murder on the businesses. He stated that “lazy” customers who expect “room service” have set an expectation from delivery drivers to enter through back alleyways and into buildings instead of just dropping their food or items at a “front door” in “broad daylight.”
The TikToker went on to say that this “entitled” attitude is supported by the companies that “don’t give a fuck about” their drivers, so long as they get their cut of a delivery order.
@disgruntleddriver People feel so entitled cuz they give you a 3 dollar tip #ubereats #mudermystery #doordashdriver #trending #randallcook #truecrime #thefloridauberdriver #deliverydrivers #oscarsolis ♬ original sound – DisgruntledDasher
Another TikTok user named Nell (@saltpepperkethcup) agreed with this creator, stitching a response to his clip with one of her own that’s now trending online.
Nell, an Amazon Flex driver, delineates how drivers are sometimes put in precarious situations and that she doesn’t feel safe dropping off packages for Amazon during early morning hours before the sun has risen.
She goes on to discuss a recent delivery to a customer’s home that she ultimately marked as undelivered. Due to extensive road work that was being conducted on the Amazon customer’s street, she would need to cut through people’s yards to make the delivery. Nell says she didn’t feel safe doing so, worrying that she may be subjected to retaliatory violence from property owners who don’t want her walking onto their land.
@saltpeppperketchup #stitch with @deonjulio #amazon #doordash #ubereats ♬ original sound – Nell
Nell says in the video: “I wanna piggyback offa this real quick. I do Amazon Flex on weekends and I normally get the really early morning shifts like the 4:30 in the morning to 8, 5, 5 in the morning whatever. I get, I do those shifts primarily. Now a
“A couple weeks ago, I had [a delivery] where the customer lived on a street that was being completely dug up. Like, I could not get through to the street at all,” she explains. “The direction was taking me to the neighboring street and wanted me to walk through somebody’s yard to get to this house. I marked that shit as undeliverable and I took it back to Amazon.”
She then alluded to recent incidents of gun violence in which people have been targeted during everyday accidents. One is the shooting of Ralph Yarl, a Black 16-year-old who was shot by an 84-year-old white man, after trying to pick up his siblings from the incorrect address.
“With these people getting killed going into the wrong driveways going up to the wrong houses, going to wrong address, I’m not going to nobody’s house at 4:30 in the morning,” Nell says. “I’m Black in Texas. I don’t give a fuck about Amazon or the job. Y’all can kiss my ass.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Nell, @disgruntleddriver, and Amazon via email for further information.
One commenter who saw Nell’s post who works as a delivery driver said that they never follow special instructions for delivery in order to avoid potentially dangerous scenarios:
In the comments section of Nell’s video, viewers echoed her concerns.
“Baby they be like drop off at my back door hell nah I only do drop off at front door ion give af,” one user wrote.
“Yes I understand I do Instacart and I tell them upfront I’m not taking it in your house or backyard it’s only going on the front porch for my safety,” another added.
A third shared, “Facts!!! I stopped doing doordash for this. Not enough $ for the amount of work and I’m not getting that close to anybody front door. No thanks.”
