The two Amazon Flex drivers were dispatched to the same house within minutes of one another. Both were shot by the homeowner, who believed they were criminals.
Two Amazon Flex delivery drivers have filed a lawsuit against the e-commerce company after they were shot by a Georgia homeowner who mistook them for burglars.
According to The Telegraph, Lawyer Denson and Eduardo Gutierrez were dispatched to a “high crime area” in Northwest Atlanta on January 13 to delivery Amazon packages.
Denson and Gutierrez are both Amazon Flex drivers, which means that they use their own, personal vehicles to independently deliver Amazon products.
Gutierrez, says 11Alive.com, approached the front door of the home around 7pm. Before dropping off a package, Gutierrez observed that several glass panes were broken.
When Gutierrez began walking back to his vehicle, he noticed a laser being pointed at him, at which point the homeowner fired five rounds.
One of the bullets struck Gutierrez in the stomach.
“In fear for his life, Plaintiff Gutierrez quickly ran to his car and drove away,” the lawsuit states, adding that Gutierrez called 9-1-1 to report that he had been shot.
Gutierrez also called his wife to inform her about the incident and tell her that he loved her.
Several minutes after Gutierrez was shot, Denson was dispatched to the same address to deliver another package; the homeowner again opened fire, striking Denson in his spinal cord.
The homeowner, Keontae Guthridge, told CBS46 that he had already had packages delivered to his house earlier in the day.
Guthridge said he had also been robbed two weeks earlier, and had not expected ununiformed Amazon drivers to come to his house.
Now, attorneys for the men say they should have been provided safety gear to identify them as Amazon drivers.
“As a result of Amazon Defendants’ egregious failures outlined herein, two innocent workers—Plaintiffs Denson and Gutierrez—were shot by an Amazon customer and sustained severe, life-threatening injuries and damages as they attempted to deliver packages on behalf of Amazon,” their lawyers wrote in the lawsuit.
The complaint alleges that Amazon needlessly exposed the two drivers to harm by failing to consolidate the deliveries and sending the two men with packages mere minutes apart.
The Amazon Flex drivers are being represented by high-profile civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who represented George Floyd’s family and recently announced a racial discrimination lawsuit against Google.
“These two men were seriously injured while working for Amazon, one of the largest and wealthiest businesses in the word,” Crump said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. “Amazon has a moral obligation to do more to protect its employees.”
Denson and Gutierrez are asking a court to award them a combined $400 million in damages.
Sources
Amazon facing $350M lawsuit for not providing safety gear to 2 drivers
Delivery drivers sue Amazon after Georgia man mistook them for burglars and shot them
Two Amazon Flex drivers sent to same home shot while making delivery. Now they’re suing the company
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