Police have launched a homicide investigation after a delivery driver died trying to keep his van from getting stolen outside Loretto Hospital on Chicago’s West Side early Monday morning.
Daniel Figueroa, 28, of Downers Grove, was found unresponsive in the 5500 block of West Flournoy Street in the Austin neighborhood just after 2 a.m., according to the Cook Cook county medical examiner’s office and Chicago police.
The incident took place after a doctor at Loretto had ordered UberEats to the hospital, according to a police report obtained by the Tribune. Employees inside told police that the driver had delivered the food then exited, the report said.
Meanwhile, video footage shows three people walking up to a vehicle parked in the turnaround area of the hospital and entering it. Figueroa is seen leaving the hospital when he sees someone trying to take his van. He then hops on the passenger side door and is dragged about half a block, leaving traumatic injuries to both his head and body, according to the report.
The doctor — after noticing on his delivery app that the driver was in the area — walked out front, he told police, where he found Figueroa lying on the ground.
Figueroa was transported to Mt. Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
There was no one in custody Monday night as detectives continued to investigate.
Figueroa’s father, Carlos Figueroa, said he was in a state of shock in a brief call with the Tribune Monday.
“I have three boys, and I have to bury,” he faltered, “my youngest.”
Through tears, he said his son “was a good kid.”
Carlos Figueroa said his son had been a driver for UberEats alongside working as an Amazon delivery driver.
An Uber spokesperson, in a statement to the Tribune, said, “We’re incredibly saddened by this tragic loss, and our thoughts are with their family and loved ones as they navigate this unimaginably difficult time.”
The spokesperson said they’ve reached out to police and “will assist them however we can.”
Carlos Figueroa recalled going fishing and camping with his son. They used to cook Puerto Rican food together, too. He said his son was trying to perfect his Puerto Rican rice. He was also an aspiring tattoo artist, experimenting with small designs of fishing poles and fishing hooks on himself.
He loved his long hair, had a beautiful smile and was just trying to make a living, Carlos Figueroa said. His son was living in Downers Grove, where the 28-year-old had grown up, with his girlfriend and her son, who he had thought of as his own.
“Somebody took my baby away from me,” Carlos Figueroa said.
Tribune reporter Caroline Kubzansky contributed.
