Current:Home > MyBenjamin Ashford|A Virginia woman delivering DoorDash was carjacked at gunpoint by an 11-year-old -MoneyMatrix
Benjamin Ashford|A Virginia woman delivering DoorDash was carjacked at gunpoint by an 11-year-old
NovaQuant View
Date:2025-04-10 11:39:27
A woman was delivering a DoorDash order in Virginia when she said she was carjacked at gunpoint by an 11-year-old and Benjamin Ashforda 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! (2)
Related
- B.A. Parker is learning the banjo
- AP PHOTOS: Church services help Georgia residents mourn victims of school shootings
- Mariah Carey Speaks Out After Her Mom and Sister Die on the Same Day
- AR-15 found as search for Kentucky highway shooter intensifies: Live updates
- Opinion: Gianni Infantino, FIFA sell souls and 2034 World Cup for Saudi Arabia's billions
- Amy Adams Makes Rare Comments About 14-Year-Old Daughter Aviana
- Justin Fields hasn't sparked a Steelers QB controversy just yet – but stay tuned
- Texas is real No. 1? Notre Dame out of playoff? Five college football Week 2 overreactions
- Juan Soto praise of Mets' future a tough sight for Yankees, but World Series goal remains
- Trial opening for former Houston officer charged with murder after deadly raid
Ranking
- All That You Wanted to Know About She’s All That
- Gaudreau brothers to be honored by family, friends and their grieving hockey teammates at funeral
- Stellantis recalls over 1.2M Ram 1500 pickup trucks in the US
- Trial opening for former Houston officer charged with murder after deadly raid
- Man can't find second winning lottery ticket, sues over $394 million jackpot, lawsuit says
- 'Best contract we've negotiated': Union, Boeing reach tentative deal amid strike threat
- House Republicans push to link government funding to a citizenship check for new voters
- Takeaways from AP’s report on the dilemmas facing Palestinian Americans ahead of US election
Recommendation
Travis Hunter, the 2
MLB power rankings: Braves and Mets to sprint for playoff lives in NL wild card race
California's Line Fire grows due to high temperatures, forces evacuations: See map
Hakeem Jeffries rejects GOP spending bill as ‘unserious and unacceptable’
Pressure on a veteran and senator shows what’s next for those who oppose Trump
Lauren Sánchez reveals how fiance Jeff Bezos and her kids inspired her children's book
Why Amy Adams Invites Criticism for Nightb--ch Movie
Congress takes up a series of bills targeting China, from drones to drugs