An attorney for a mother who was struck by an Amazon Flex delivery driver is calling on the company to make serious changes.
Amazon Flex allows people to use their own vehicle to deliver packages for Amazon as a way of earning extra money.
On August 22, a woman was pushing her infant son in a stroller while walking her dog in an Aventura neighborhood when police said delivery driver Sarah Naybeth Parra Ovalles, 45, rammed into the mother and knocked the stroller over.
Parra Ovalles is seen on surveillance video placing the baby boy back into the stroller before taking off.
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The mother was left with a brain bleed, fractured skull, memory issues and can now barely walk, according to her attorney Judd Rosen.
"She came back home a different person," Rosen said. "She was run down in the middle of the street and left for dead."
The 5-month-old baby was also left bruised.
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Rosen is now calling for Amazon to take accountability and change policies, to ensure that delivery drivers are being careful and well-trained.
“They have to look at a map and make a deadline for delivery, otherwise they get in trouble,” Rosen explained. “It’s a recipe Amazon uses to make billions, but it’s also a recipe for disaster for our children and our streets and our community, if safety doesn’t become a priority.”
The attorney said the family doesn't want to see anyone else get hit and sees this as an opportunity for change.
“We know that Amazon’s got billions of dollars they’re going pay tons of money to this family, but that doesn’t do us any good if there’s not a change.” Rosen said.
Rosen called on Amazon to prioritize more training for drivers in terms of community safety.
An Amazon spokesperson responded to Rosen's comments in a statement to NBC6.
“Our thoughts remain with the family following this terrible incident. However, this characterization of the Amazon Flex program is misleading - the fact is that safety is always our top priority. We design delivery blocks so they can be completed safely in the allocated time and the vast majority of Amazon Flex delivery partners finish early,” spokesman Steve Kelly stated.
Parra Ovalles was arrested and charged with two counts of leaving the scene of a crash, one causing serious bodily injury. She was the Amazon Flex delivery partner involved and is no longer delivering on Amazon's behalf, according to the company.
Amazon said its Flex delivery partners sign up for delivery blocks that fit their schedule and have safety-based training opportunities. The company also noted that partners work when they want and they have the freedom to take breaks and run errands during their delivery window.
These partners are required to pass a background check, be at least 21 years old, possess a valid driver’s license, and maintain personal auto insurance that complies with your local requirements, according to Amazon.
The incident happened in Aventura at around 8:30 a.m. on August 22, when Parra Ovalles allegedly arrived at the Isles Estates neighborhood on NE 193rd Street and identified herself as an Amazon driver at the guard gate.
Police said surveillance video shows Parra Ovalles, who was driving from a 2022 Hyundai SUV, making deliveries.
Later, a woman walking with her infant son in a stroller and a dog started crossing NE 7th Avenue and NE 191st Street in the crosswalk. When they were more than halfway through the crosswalk, Parra Ovalles allegedly turned into them “in the opposite lanes of traffic,” knocking the woman backwards onto the pavement and the stroller with the baby onto the ground.
Video shows how the victim is pushed several feet, leaning on the hood of the car until the vehicle moves out of frame. The stroller falls to the ground and the dog appears to run from the impact.
Then, the footage shows the driver get out of the car, walk over to the child, fix the stroller and put him inside as loud cries are heard.
An arrest report alleges that after that, she left the scene.
Parra Ovalles was arrested after police interviewed the gate guard and a witness, who said while she was inside her home, she heard a child crying and a vehicle's horn beep. When the witness looked out her window, she saw a woman wearing an Amazon Prime vest standing next to a grey SUV and looking around. Seconds later, she saw the woman get back in the SUV and drive away.
Her security cameras also captured the crash, police said.
The next day, police asked Parra Ovalles to come into the station for an interview, during which she admitted to making deliveries and seeing the victims, according to the arrest report. She said she drove next to them, and that the mother seemed "out of it" and "placed her hands on her hood." Parra Ovalles said she asked if she was OK, the mother nodded, and Parra Ovalles drove away.
When she was shown video of the crash, she denied the accident and invoked her rights, authorities said.
Parra Ovalles was arrested and taken to Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
In an initial statement, an Amazon spokesperson said: “This is a terrible incident, and our thoughts are with this family. We're looking into the matter and will support law enforcement as they investigate. The driver in question is no longer delivering on behalf of Amazon.”
