DoorDash is at the center of a lawsuit alleging it was negligent when one of its drivers struck and killed a woman working in her yard.
DoorDash and one of its drivers were hit with a wrongful death lawsuit filed last month after the driver struck and killed a “Thibodaux woman as she was working in her yard last year.” The woman was Anita Mire, 79. Before the deadly incident, she was busy doing yard work in her front yard on October 9, 2020. Tragically, a 2011 Toyota Camry driven by 35-year-old DoorDash driver Shane Gilfour came flying out of nowhere and struck her. She died from her injuries eight days later.
The suit was filed on August 2 by Mire’s family. In it, her children argue “Gilfour looked away from the roadway to look at his cellphone to read the details of a DoorDash order.” When he did so, “his car drifted into the left lane of Arms Street and swerved back to the right before veering off the right side of the road, striking the woman in her yard.”
In addition to DoorDash and Gilfour, Voyager Indemnity Insurance Company and Goauto Insurance Company are also named as defendants. The suit claims DoorDash is “vicariously liable for negligence that led to Mire’s death” and states:
“At all material times, DoorDash Inc. knew or should have known that Shane Gilfour was unable to operate his vehicle safely and properly…DoorDash failed to make proper inquiry into the background of its delivery drivers, such as Shane Gilfour, in order to properly determine if the driver was capable of safely driving his vehicle.”
Immediately following the accident, a police officer rushed to the scene and found Mire “lying in the grass of her front yard with serious injuries to her head and right arm.” Gilfour was “trying to render aid to the victim,” according to a police report that was filed. When asked what happened, Gilfour “initially told police he saw Mire lying in her yard as he was driving by and stopped to help but changed his story when officers became suspicious after they saw the damage on his car,” the report noted.
The police report further stated:
“I observed blood on the front bumper and passenger-side door…Since Shane Gilfour took ownership of the vehicle, I immediately developed him as a suspect in the crash. I then read him his Miranda warnings and he waived them. I asked what happened with the crash and Shane Gilfour admitted to striking the woman.”
To make matters worse, the officer “found about 1 gram of methamphetamine and a syringe in Gilfour’s possession.” After an investigation, Gilfour was charged with vehicular homicide. According to court records, “an analysis of Gilfour’s blood showed traces of amphetamines, methamphetamines, THC and other drugs.”
As a result of the incident, Mire’s family is seeking more than $50,000 in damages. The complaint states:
“Shane Gilfour was operating his vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating substances…Upon information and belief, Shane Gilfour acted with wanton or reckless disregard for the rights and safety of others and was intoxicated at the time of the aforementioned crash, and as such intoxication caused in fact of Anita Mire’s injuries. As a result of the crash in question, Anita Mire has suffered catastrophic injuries that led to her death. Anita Mire sustained severe injuries throughout her entire body for which she was required to remain as a hospital in-patient for eight days prior to her death during which time she suffered severe pain and mental anguish.”
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