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Uber Eats driver killed after teen girls hijack vehicle with taser, smash into pavement

Two teenage girls in the US have been charged with the murder and carjacking of a Pakistani immigrant killed last week while he was delivering food in Washington DC. Stock photo.
Two teenage girls in the US have been charged with the murder and carjacking of a Pakistani immigrant killed last week while he was delivering food in Washington DC. Stock photo.
Image: 123RF/BELCHONOK

Two girls, aged 13 and 15, were charged with the murder and carjacking of a Pakistani immigrant killed last week while delivering food in Washington DC, in the US, in an incident a bystander captured on video.

The police said Mohammad Anwar, 66, died when the girls, armed with a taser, sped off in his car while he clung to the driver’s side with the door open and crashed seconds later outside the ballpark of the Washington Nationals.

A video posted on Saturday shows the encounter unfolding over 90 seconds and ending with Anwar’s Honda Accord on its side, the girls climbing out and a fatally injured Anwar motionless on the sidewalk.

By Sunday afternoon, the video had been seen at least 5.5 million times on Twitter.

The police did not identify the juvenile suspects, one of whom is from Columbia and the other from neighbouring Fort Washington, Maryland.

Anwar, who lived in suburban Springfield, Virginia, and was at his delivery job for Uber Eats when he was killed, was described in a GoFundMe post as “a hard-working Pakistani immigrant who came to the US to create a better life for himself and his family”.

The GoFundMe campaign launched on behalf of his family had raised more than $500,000 (about R7.5m) by Sunday afternoon to cover the costs of a funeral and to provide for his survivors.

“Anwar was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, uncle and friend who always provided a smile when you needed one,” the family said.

“Words cannot describe how our family is feeling now - devastation, confusion, shock, anger, heartache and anguish are a few that come to mind.”

An Uber representative told local radio station WTOP: “We are devastated by this tragic news and our hearts go out to Mohammad’s family during this difficult time.”

Carjackings in Washington DC increased to 46 in the first five weeks of the year from eight in the same period a year ago, The Post said on Wednesday, citing police statistics. There were 345 carjackings last year, an increase of 143% from the prior year, the newspaper said.

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