An Uber Eats driver making his last delivery of the day in Holiday, Florida, was robbed, murdered, and dismembered last month. Food delivery drivers have posted on TikTok and Twitter sharing their condolences and reactions to the murder, including calls for more protections for gig workers.
Uber Eats driver Randall Cooke, 59, was last seen on April 19 delivering an order to the home of Oscar Solis before Solis murdered Cooke and disposed of his body in trash bags the following day. Cooke’s wedding ring and car keys were allegedly found in Solis’ possession, and he was charged with murder.
Uber Eats and DoorDash drivers have discussed Cooke’s death on TikTok. Some emphasized how vulnerable delivery drivers are when they hand orders to customers face-to-face.
Disgruntled Dasher (@disgruntleddasher) says in a TikTok that Cooke’s murder is “100% [Uber Eats’] fault,” saying the company doesn’t “give a fuck about their drivers.”
“They force their drivers to go inside of the buildings, in backyards, in alleys, behind buildings—wherever the customer specifies,” Disgruntled Dasher says in his video. “It should be you bring the food to the front door, in broad daylight, not go inside any building. And then [the customer] can pick it up from the fucking front door.”
He says that the requirement to meet some customers at the door to hand off their food is what led to Cooke’s murder.
“That’s an easy time to pull a gun,” Disgruntled Dasher says. “Or just grab you and pull you inside.”
@disgruntleddriver People feel so entitled cuz they give you a 3 dollar tip #ubereats #mudermystery #doordashdriver #trending #randallcook #truecrime #thefloridauberdriver #deliverydrivers #oscarsolis ♬ original sound – DisgruntledDasher
Marcos Alonzo (@marcos_miami), who is also a food delivery driver, posted a TikTok about how much Cooke’s murder scared him.
“I’ve probably done more than 1,000 deliveries of Uber Eats in my lifetime,” Alonzo says in his TikTok. “That could have been me.”
Maddie Kearns (@musclemaddie97), another food delivery driver, posted her own TikTok in which she called Cooke’s murder “disgusting.”
“I literally think this could have happened to any one of us,” Kearns says of the delivery driver community.
She also advised people working as delivery drivers to bring stun guns, pepper spray, or even a buddy when delivering.
@musclemaddie97 Praying hard for the Cooke family right now🙏🏻💙 This is scary…. #ubereats #uberdriver #murdermystery #randallcooke #thefloridauberdriver #ubereatsdriver #pasco #pascocounty #fl #deliverydriver #deliverygirl #staysafe #doordash #doordashdriver #deliverwithmaddie #foryoupage ♬ original sound – Maddie Kerns
Others have posted in order to honor Cooke’s memory. Justin Pride, an Uber Eats driver, posted a TikTok of her taking a moment of silence.
“Us Uber Eats drivers, just like Randall. Just wanna be of service to many. Including the elderly, people with disabilities and people in hospitals. Workers who can’t leave their jobs and are hungry,” Justin Pride wrote in her video’s overlay text. “We provide a service and we risk our lives doing so.”
And John Gregg, an Uber Eats driver, used the delivery app itself. He shared a screenshot of his Uber Eats delivery profile on Twitter: In response to the profile’s prompt asking why he works for Uber Eats, Gregg wrote “R.I.P. Randall Cooke.”
Update 1:34pm CT, May 3: In a statement to the Daily Dot, a spokesperson for Uber said that the company is “heartbroken” about Cooke’s “horrific murder,” and is in contact with local authorities regarding the investigation.
The spokesperson also said that Uber tracks the rides of all its drivers, and an “emergency button” in the app allows drivers to call 911.
