Homeowner: Amazon driver struck my mailbox and fled
CHESTERFIELD, VA (WWBT) - A woman living in the Brandermill neighborhood of Chesterfield says a driver delivering her Amazon package struck her mailbox and fled the scene.
On July 3, Julie Apple heard a loud boom outside of her home. She rushed out immediately to see what happened.
"I come out and my mailbox is smashed, and there is a little white delivery van right here, acting like he's getting ready to take off," Apple said.
The man driving that van had just delivered an Amazon package to Apple. He was a driver for a third-party vendor contracted by Amazon.
"So I flag him down and I say, 'you just hit my mailbox, were you going to come tell me?'" Apple said. "And he says, 'sure, sure I was going to come to your door.' I didn't have a phone or anything in my hand so I said 'do you have a pen? I need to get your insurance information.'"
Apple says the driver didn't have a pen. She told him she was going to run inside to get her phone.
"I had in the back of my head he wasn't going to stay. As soon as I got up the walk, he took off," said Apple.
Apple called Chesterfield Police, who arrived within 15 minutes to take her statement.
"I told them it wasn't an emergency, but I wanted them to know he was driving at this high rate of speed through Brandermill, a super residential neighborhood with tons of kids," said Apple.
About an hour later, the officer drove back to Apple's home. The Amazon driver was following behind.
"He claimed he was coming back but couldn't remember where I lived," Apple said.
According to Apple, police asked the driver for his driver's license and registration.
"He couldn't find the registration, doesn't have his driver's license on him, so the police officer gets his name and Social Security number and finds out he has a suspended license with notice."
Apple called Amazon and filed a claim. She says the company has been extremely helpful, telling her to send photos of her mailbox and a written estimate from a contractor with replacement costs.
"I understand accidents happen and they'll do what's right, but again my concern is, are we having suspended drivers driving through out neighborhoods," Apple said.
NBC12 reached out to police, but they have not confirmed he was driving on a suspended license.
NBC12 reached out to Amazon. The company says safety is their top priority, and they require delivery service partners to conduct multi-state, comprehensive background checks and motor vehicle record reviews for their employees.
A PR official for the company said, "This does not reflect the standards we have for delivery providers. We are addressing this with the delivery service partner and are working with the customer to make things right."
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