10 immigrant delivery workers died on the streets of New York this year, marking a stark increase from the last two years, according to data collected by the Workers Justice Project (WJP) exclusively shared with Documented.
In 2023, seven delivery workers died, and in 2022, WJP counted five deaths. During the height of the pandemic in 2021, when online food ordering was much higher, the number of fatalities was 14.
Victor Hidalgo is the most recent delivery worker killed this year. On Oct. 30 while delivering for Capsule, an online prescription-delivery service app, Hidalgo was hit by an ambulance. With his death, the delivery worker death rate this year averages to one death a month.
“This increase in the number of tragic delivery worker deaths demonstrates just how little protection these workers have been afforded by the multibillion-dollar companies that demand so much of them,” said Ligia Guallpa, executive director of WJP and co-founder of Los Deliveristas Unidos.
Over the past few years, app-based delivery has been a booming business in the city and a vital lifeline for thousands of immigrant workers. It’s estimated that about 65,000 delivery workers are buzzing across New York City’s streets, and the industry shows no sign of slowing down. This year alone has shown an 8% growth in deliveries from last year, with 2.77 million deliveries being completed during the first quarter of 2024 alone, according to city data.
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However, delivery workers are taking more risks to meet the demands of delivery app algorithms that track their every move. A 2021 survey of 1,650 delivery workers conducted by the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection found that 21.9% and 20.8% of delivery workers surveyed reported being injured and assaulted while on the job, respectively. A 2024 report by WJP highlights how workers, afraid of being deactivated from the apps, are working longer and faster.
“The pressure to accept all offers and to deliver them within a specific amount of time determined by the apps is increasing workers’ stress levels and pushing delivery workers to take on unnecessary risks on the roads,” the report states.
Guallpa says the delivery industry has increasingly become one of the most fatal occupations in New York City because workers are being forced to contend with meeting corporate demands that ask more of the workers while offering them less. However, Guallpa sees a path forward by advocating reforms that could make the job safer.
“To avoid these painful losses, we must invest in human dignity and worker safety, including safety education, protected bike lanes, equitable access to safe vehicles and battery charging services for these low-wage workers as well as safety-oriented reforms to the corporate algorithms that privilege speed and maximization of company revenues over workers’ health,” she said.
Meanwhile, the effects of the deaths could be felt in immigrant communities all across the city. Victor Hidalgo’s aunt, Tomasa Hidalgo, recalls the night she got the call from the hospital informing her of his death.
“It affected me greatly,” she said. “I still can’t quite believe the news.”
Victor was 24 years old when he was struck and killed by an ambulance. It was his second year in New York after immigrating from Mexico in 2023. His aunt Tomasa was the only family he had in New York and he shared an apartment with her in the Bronx, paying his $600 share of the rent monthly.
In addition to the rent, Victor supported his girlfriend and his 18-month old son back home in Mexico. His aunt says that Victor was known for his kindness and playfulness. She said he aspired to one day finish school and perhaps become a police officer.
When he first became a delivery worker, his family was nervous and warned him about the dangers of the job.
“His parents told him they didn’t like it and even now I see accidents every day on the news but he [was] older and you [couldn’t] really tell him what to do.”
After his death, it took several weeks and $7,000 to return his body to Mexico. But for Tomasa, Victor’s absence in their apartment weighs heavy on her.
“He would leave in the afternoon and come home late at 11 when we had gone to bed early and you could hear him preparing his food,” she said. “It’s weird not hearing him —it’s really difficult.”
The following is a list of the names of all delivery workers who died on the job this year:
- Unknown, 31, Mar 18, 2024
- Andrés Santiago Gaona, 22, Mar 6, 2024
- Endy Donaldo González Gómez, 19, March 2024
- Marco Antonio Betancurt 25 years, from Puebla México, April, 8, 2024
- Cesar Linares Morales unknown, from Guerrero México, April 2024
- Juan Aguilar Rosas, 47, from Mexico, Feb 2024
- Marcos Alcantara Hernandez, age unknown, from México, 2024
- Juan Francisco Jeronimo, age unknown, from Veracruz México, March 2024
- Unknown, age unknown, March 2024
- Victor Hidalgo, 24, from Mexico, Oct 2024
