Carjacker steals Chicago food delivery driver's car, then runs him over
CHICAGO (CBS) – A food delivery driver was recovering after he was carjacked on the job in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood last week.
When he tried to stop the thieves, they used his own car as a weapon. The victim and his wife spoke exclusively to CBS News Chicago.
Yeiber Gonzalez's injuries have left him bedridden. While the pain was excruciating, he told CBS News Chicago, it was the overwhelming sadness that has been keeping him up at night.
"I am in a lot of pain," Gonzalez said in Spanish.
Gonzalez is an Uber Eats driver, a gig he's had for about a year that helps to support his family, including his 1-month-old daughter, Emma.
On July 29, Gonzalez was making his final delivery of the night in the 900 block of West 19th Street in Pilsen when he left his car running as he made the dropoff.
He said he saw a car pull up on the side of his and a man got out and hopped into his red Hyundai Elantra. Gonzalez, thinking about how his car was his only way to make money, quickly reacted by running toward the car and jumping on the hood.
The offender, he said, accelerated and took off while Gonzalez screamed for him to stop. When the man stopped, Gonzalez fell to the pavement. That's when the carjacker struck Gonzalez, shattering his right ankle.
Surveillance footage obtained by CBS News Chicago shows the Hyundai Elantra speed away from the scene. Moments later, cell phone video showed Gonzalez's wife and sister arrive in distress as he was placed into an ambulance.
"He's the one that would take care of us physically, emotionally, mentally, financially," said Gonzalez's wife Shay as she was holding their daughter.
His wife is waiting to start a new job and now that Gonzalez can't walk on his own and has no car, the family is left in limbo with limited income as they already have their hands full with a newborn.
A GoFundMe page was set up to help them in the meantime.
"You didn't have to do this to someone," Shay said. "Someone who was out there working for his family."
The goal for the family now is to not only get their car back but also to get justice. Chicago police are investigating the carjacking but no arrests have been made.
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call police.