Frederick Ibonie said he was waiting for his food at around 3 a.m. local time at a Denny’s in Fremont when he heard a delivery driver berate the employees because the order wasn’t ready on time, the report said.
Ibonie, who works as a waiter nearby, said he felt he should defend the Denny’s employees from the alleged abuse.
“You need to calm down. It’s Denny’s, these people are working their butts off,” he told the man, who he claimed worked for DoorDash.
The delivery driver then allegedly pushed a customer and punched Ibonie in the face before he ran away, knocking three of his teeth out in the process, he said.
Ibonie also suffered a broken nose, and also got ten stitches in his lip, reported ABC7.
A photo posted on social media shows in the hospital with a cloth over his eyes.
“I feel like I look like a… monster right now,” Ibonie told the news outlet. “We should stand up for each other, but the world is a dangerous place,” he added.
“I’m horrified,” said Paula Ibonie, the victim’s mother. “He’s a nice guy who cares about everybody.” She said he moved back home to help take care of his father, who suffered a brain injury after he was assaulted 10 years ago.
Complicating matters further, Ibonie said he doesn’t have health insurance and can’t work after the incident.
Police are still working to identify the suspect, but they aren’t sure he worked for DoorDash. Ibonie said he believed he worked for the company “because he was saying he was for DoorDash and was here to get the food.”
DoorDash issued a statement to the ABC station about the matter.
“At DoorDash, we take the safety of our community extremely seriously. We are investigating the alleged incident and will take action as appropriate, including deactivating the Dasher from our platform,” the firm said.
