Grubhub Says Hit-And-Run Driver Didn’t Work for Them Despite Presenting Himself as a Grubhub Driver

Charges have been filed against a delivery driver who allegedly ran over a restaurant worker on Friday in Lakeview, leaving the woman with several broken bones. Aamir Mohammed turned himself in on Saturday and was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, failure to report an accident, and leaving the scene of the hit-and-run after the incident outside Ms. T’s Southern Fried Chicken on the 3330 block of North Broadway Street.

Mohammed, according to reports, was angry that restaurant workers asked him to remain outside to properly follow social distancing guidelines. Prosecutors say Mohammed kicked and then slammed the restaurant’s front door before returning to his car. Two restaurant workers followed him out and attempted to call police. One of the workers, Bijan Choya Early — her mother owns the restaurant — stood in front of the Toyota Prius with her back facing the car. After a brief exchange, prosecutors say Mohammed hit the gas, slammed the car into Early, and ran her over while speeding away. Video captured the incident. The GoFundMe has been established by the East Lakeview Chamber of Commerce for Early and her family to cover medical costs.

Mohammed had presented himself as a Grubhub driver, and prosecutors, according to the Sun-Times, say he lacked a valid driver’s license. That left a gap in the story because a Grubhub statement reiterated that they apply thorough background checks on drivers.

It turns out that Mohammed wasn’t officially working for the third-party delivery company. According to a Grubhub spokesperson “the individual charged with this crime was not a Grubhub driver. He was using another contracted driver’s account, which is a fraudulent misuse of our platform.” They’ve since terminated the contractor who owned the account Mohammed was using. During a special Monday committee meeting, Amy Healy, head of public affairs for Grubhub, told City Council members that “we are absolutely shocked and appalled to what happened this weekend.”

A lack of accountability for third-party delivery drivers is one of many concerns Chicago’s restaurant owners have with Grubhub, DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Postmates, and was the subject of discussion at Monday’s city committee meeting which convened to discuss implementing a cap on third-party delivery fees.

When informed that Mohammed didn’t work for Grubhub, one of the restaurant owners who testified during Monday’s meeting, Fifty/50 Restaurant Group’s Scott Weiner, expressed shock and wondered how many drivers that haven’t been vetted by background checks are delivering food using other people’s credentials. Weiner and the Illinois Restaurant Association are trying to get the City Council to better regulate the third-party delivery sector.

“That’s pretty fucked up,” Weiner texts. “Makes you think about next time you get into a Uber, right?”