Jun 8, 2009 10:29 am US/Central
Evanston Neighbors Help Robbed Pizza Delivery Man
Stephen Walker Lost Car, Suffered Bone Fractures In Attack
EVANSTON, Ill. (CBS) ―
Residents of a neighborhood in southern Evanston raised nearly than $1,400 in 72 hours last week to help a pizza delivery man buy a new car to replace one stolen from him in a robbery.
The fund was the idea of laid-off architect Omar Gutiérrez, 31, who saw two men attack delivery driver Stephen Walker last Tuesday night in the 100 block of Clyde Avenue, a short distance north of Howard Street.
Walker was robbed in the courtyard of an apartment building. The two robbers hit and kicked Walker and dragged him on the asphalt before taking his money and car.
Neighbors witnessed the attack and called police, who chased the suspects and led them to crash the car, Gutiérrez wrote on a Web site he has put up on Walker's behalf.
The car was burned to a husk when it crashed into a tree at Ridge Avenue and Case Street, Gutiérrez wrote. Walker suffered fractures to his face, jaw, arm, femur and other bones, and severe "road rash," Gutiérrez wrote.
Gutiérrez was among those who dialed 911 after the attack, and he later talked with Walker at the police station, where they shared a lot of their life experiences. The experience led him to start a fund for Walker, and the group he started, called "Clyde Ave. Neighbors Care," plans to present Walker with a check Tuesday.
"You can imagine Steve is not well off. His insurance only covers liability and now he has no car," Gutiérrez wrote. "The approximate value of his '03 Kia Optima is $2,000 and he doesn't have that kind of money."
Walker, of Carol Stream, has delivered pizza for Papa John's for the past 16 years, and needs a new car to make a living, prompting the call for donations, Gutiérrez wrote.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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