DoorDash and a background check company failed to properly vet a man who killed the plaintiffs' mother in a DUI crash while driving for the food delivery service, a lawsuit alleges.
Plaintiffs Robin Albright and Emily Martinson say San Francisco-based DoorDash and Checkr failed to adequately investigate the background of driver Jonathan Frederick Lindow, who had a suspended driver’s license and several DUI convictions, according to the complaint filed in San Francisco Superior Court Monday.
Plaintiffs say Checkr used a “quick checks” system that failed to uncover Lindow’s full criminal history and driving record before he began working as a DoorDash driver.
Lindow was convicted on Dec. 11 of two counts of driving under the influence and one count of second-degree murder for the death of their mother, Lindsay Crawford, the Sacramento Bee reported. According to the newspaper, Lindow’s conviction this month was his seventh DUI.
Crawford was sitting on a motorcycle with her husband, John Blackburn, on Nov. 9 when prosecutors say Lindow hit their motorcycle while driving with a blood alcohol content of .23%. She was pronounced dead on the spot, according to the Sacramento District Attorney’s Office.
“DoorDash, Checkr … chose to reduce costs and liabilities at the expense of public safety, including the decedent Crawford,” the civil complaint said. “These decisions were made by [them] knowing it was reasonably foreseeable, if not probable, that persons… including decedent Crawford, would be harmed or killed.”
Crawford’s children demand survivor and punitive damages but do not name an amount in the complaint. The suit is an unlimited civil trial, meaning damages can exceed $25,000.
The plaintiffs’ attorney, Rudy Nolen, DoorDash and Checkr were contacted for comment.