A father of three working as an Uber Eats driver has been killed in a suspected carjacking in Washington DC after two teenage girls allegedly tried to steal his car.
Mohammad Anwar, 66, died on Tuesday. Shocking footage of the incident shows Mr Anwar attempting to recover his vehicle as a suspect accelerates, dragging him alongside and crushing him against a fence.
The car sped down a street before flipping and ejecting Mr Anwar onto a nearby sidewalk. The footage shows a figure lying face down on the sidewalk, not moving.
Mr Anwar died in hospital following the incident after suffering numerous broken bones and severe head trauma. He was making food deliveries at the time of the attack.
In footage captured by a bystander, Mr Anwar can be seen standing next to the driver’s door, arguing with those inside the vehicle. Police later said the suspects had used a Taser on Mr Anwar.
«They’re thieves!» he is heard saying, as he appears to try to regain control of the car. «This is my car!»
Following the crash, the footage shows one of the carjackers climbing out of the overturned vehicle.
National Guardsmen near the scene of the crash detained the suspects before they could flee and held them until police arrived at the scene.
The Metropolitan Police Department said the suspected carjackers are a 13-year-old girl from southeast DC and a 15-year-old girl from Fort Washington, Maryland. Neither of the girls has been named because they are juveniles.
Both girls have been charged with felony murder and armed carjacking.
Mr Anwar’s family members told WUSA9 that he immigrated to the US from Pakistan in 2014, and that he worked food delivery gigs to support his wife, children, and four grandchildren.
«The family is devastated by this senseless crime,» Mr Anwar’s relatives said in a statement. «Mohammad Anwar was a father, a grandfather, a husband, a brother, and uncle beloved by many here in the United States and in Pakistan, his birth country.»
The teens made their initial court appearance on Wednesday. A judge ruled that they were a threat to the community and posed a flight risk so were detained until their next court appearance on 31 March.
Mr Anwar’s niece has launched a GoFundMe to help pay for a traditional Islamic funeral for her uncle.
As of Sunday, the GoFundMe had raised $430,000 after an initial goal of $100,000 set by the family.
«Words can not describe how our family is feeling currently,» Lehra Bogino wrote in the campaign’s description.
«Devastation, confusion, shock, anger, heartache, and anguish are just a few that come to mind. We will carry him with us always, but it doesn’t take the pain away of losing him so tragically and so unexpectedly soon.»
