Left: Ryan Turner (Wixom police). Right: Lloyd Poole (Jen Shaw via WJBK).
A 75-year-old Michigan man is fighting for his life after a DoorDash driver allegedly punched him in the face after the victim told the suspect he was driving too fast in the neighborhood.
Police in the Detroit suburb of Wixom said they were called to a home in the area of Barberry Circle and Windingway Drive shortly before 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 28 for an “unconscious and unresponsive” elderly man who was lying in the road. Investigators learned the man was possibly involved in a road rage incident.
Shortly thereafter, 40-year-old Ryan Turner arrived at the Wixom Police Department to report he was involved in the incident and allegedly admitted to punching the man because he felt threatened. Turner, who was making food deliveries for DoorDash, said the man fell down and hit his head after the punch.
Turner said the man confronted him about speeding in the neighborhood which led to the altercation. Cops arrested Turner on a misdemeanor aggravated assault charge. He”s since posted a $35,000 bond. His next court date is set for Jan. 14.
According to Detroit ABC affiliate WXYZ, the victim, Lloyd Poole, remains unconscious in his hospital bed after doctors performed emergency brain surgery to remove part of his skull.
“He sucker punched my dad, and my dad never got up, and he drove away,” Poole’s daughter Jen Shaw told local Fox affiliate WJBK.
Shaw said her father is still in a coma.
“Could be like this for a day, could be like this for a week, or a year,” she told WJBK.
She doesn’t understand why someone would become so violent.
“People are crazy,” said Shaw. “You cannot anticipate how people are going to react, obviously.”
Per WJBK, Turner was previously convicted in a separate road rage case in 2022. He lost his license.
DoorDash released the following statement to People:
“What occurred was absolutely appalling and unacceptable,” the statement said. “DoorDash has zero tolerance for violence, and we have permanently removed the individual’s access to the platform. We are working with local law enforcement to support their investigation to ensure justice is served.”
