CHICAGO (WGN) — Newly acquired footage has revealed a DoorDash driver’s attempt at delivering food to a customer at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport last month. This incident not only breached perimeter security but also did not prompt an immediate response.
In surveillance video obtained by Nexstar’s WGN, the delivery driver’s red Hyundai Elantra is captured pulling up just behind and to the right of a United Airlines wide-body jet parked at Terminal 1, Concourse C around midday on May 17. The car paused for about 20 seconds before moving forward again and then stopping beside the jet.
Baggage handlers noticed the driver and approached, but it took almost 10 minutes for a marked Chicago police vehicle to arrive. It’s not clear from the footage whether police or airport security officers might have reached the spot sooner on foot.
WGN Investigates has learned the driver entered the restricted area through a security gate at the southeast corner of O’Hare, indicating he traveled a significant distance across the massive airfield without being stopped or raising alarm.
“No guard was clearly visible and [he] proceeded through the gate, following instructions from his GPS coordinates in an aim to deliver the meal,” the driver told police, according to records obtained by WGN Investigates. Police found the food order and a Door Dash receipt in the driver’s car and released him without issuing any citations.
The private security guard manning the perimeter checkpoint told police she didn’t immediately report the breach.
“The vehicle had indeed driven through her post to which she regarded as strange and unfamiliar,” she told officers according to their reports. “She then closed the gate but made no attempt to contact [the operations center] or notify her direct supervisor.”
“Following this incident, [Chicago Department of Aviation] leadership met with the contractor, Lincoln Security, to review what occurred and referred the matter to the Transportation Security Administration for further investigation,” airport spokesperson Kevin Bargnes told WGN Investigates. “The employee involved is no longer employed by Lincoln Security, and their airport credentials have been terminated by the CDA.”
A DoorDash spokesperson did not answer a question about whether the driver is still delivering food for the company.
