Two teenage girls have been arrested and charged with murder in the death of an Uber Eats driver. A statement from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) said the girls carjacked the delivery driver, identified as Mohammad Anwar near Nationals Park in Washington DC on Tuesday afternoon. They used a stun gun against him which caused the car to flip and toss the driver out of the vehicle.
According to NBC Washington, the girls ages 13 and 15 attacked the 66-year-old driver as he was driving causing the grey sedan to crash and overturn on its side at the 200 block of Van Street, Southeast. Their identities have been withheld as they are juveniles.
In court, MPD detectives showed a video where one of the girls was screaming “He has my phone!” as the Uber Easts driver yells “They’re trying to take my car!”
The video also shows one of the girls makes her way into the driver seat, while the other in the passenger seat jams the car in gear as the Honda speeds off.
During their interrogation, an MPD detective said one girl admitted her intentions to steal the car. She then blamed the other girl for jamming the car in gear, swinging the steering wheel and crushing Anwar to death when the car got wrecked.
Navy Yard resident Elliott Morris who witnessed the crash said the car ended up on two wheels as it tried to make the turn and crashed into two other cars. He said the driver fell out of the car via the driver’s side door.
Police arrived at about 4:30 p.m. and found Anwar’s body on the sidewalk. First responders rushed him to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Two National Guard troops who were in the area pulled the two girls out of the flipped car as they tried to run away. They were arrested at the scene.
An Uber spokeswoman confirmed that Anwar was enroute to a food delivery when the incident occurred. In their official statement, Uber said: “We are devastated by this tragic news and our hearts go out to Mohammad’s family during this difficult time."
Anwar is survived by his wife and three grown children, two live in the United States and one in Pakistan. He emigrated from Pakistan to the US in 2014 “to build a better life for himself and his family”.
The teens made their initial appearances together on Wednesday via video conference in D.C. Superior Court. Each pleaded “not involved” — which is not guilty in juvenile court.
The state prosecutor asked Magistrate Judge Tyrona DeWitt to order the teens to be held in a secure facility while the case proceeds.
Authorities say juveniles have been a of particular concern in the district. Police say 23 youths aged 12 to 17 have been arrested this year on carjacking charges. One 14-year-old was charged in two armed carjackings and three armed robberies on a single day in January, The Washington Post reported.
Montgomery County Police Chief Marcus Jones said some youths brag about their crimes on social media, “showing the world what they’ve done.”
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