Teens charged in hijacking, crash killing Uber Eats driver in Washington, DC
The 13- and 15-year-old girls face felony murder and armed carjacking charges in the death of Mohammad Anwar
Two teenage girls are in custody after an Uber Eats driver was killed during a hijacking in Washington, D.C.
The suspects carjacked the driver with a weapon and soon after crashed the car. Part of the incident was caught on video.
The driver was identified as Mohammad Anwar, an immigrant who lived in Springfield, Virginia, according to NBC4 Washington. Anwar was working in the city’s southeastern quadrant when the girls, ages 13 and 15, approached him and brandished a stun gun. A witness of the carjacking captured the incident on his camera phone, and the footage was released by TMZ.
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In the video, the 66-year-old man can be seen leaning out of the open front door of the car crying out, “This is my car!” One teen can be seen in the front passenger’s seat motioning toward another person behind the wheel. The two can be heard yelling commands at one another when the engine starts and revs up.
Moments later, the car speeds off down the street with Anwar hanging out and the door slams into a light pole. The camera follows the car as it turns the corner and out of sight, followed by the sound of screeching brakes and a loud crash.
As the bystander rushes to the scene, the sedan is seen turned over on its side. The girls soon after climb out from the window of the car as the bystander filming said, “They stole the car!” Anwar received life threatening injuries from the crash and was taken to a hospital where he would be pronounced dead.
While the suspects’ identities cannot be disclosed because they are minors, it was confirmed by Metropolitan Police Department that one is a 13-year-old from Washington, D.C. and the other is a 15-year-old from Fort Washington, Maryland. NBC News reports that the two were arrested and have since been charged with felony murder and armed carjacking.
Anwar was a Pakistani immigrant who moved to America in 2014, according to a family statement. It described him as a “hardworking” man who was working to “build a better life for himself and his family. The loss for his family is immeasurable.”
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He is survived by his wife, his three children and four grandchildren. Two of his children, who are adults, also live in the U.S., while one son and his grandchildren live in Pakistan. The family has raised nearly five times their fundraising goal on GoFundMe. All donations will go to “the Anwar family to pay for funeral costs and services, loss of wages, and pain and suffering,” according to the page.
Uber also released a statement following Anwar’s death:
“We are devastated by this tragic news and our hearts go out to Mohammad’s family during this difficult time,” the statement said. “We’re grateful the suspects have been arrested and thank the Metropolitan Police Department for their diligence with this investigation.”
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