Authorities in Evansville, Indiana, have filed serious felony charges against a woman accused of contaminating a DoorDash food delivery with a harmful substance that allegedly caused the unsuspecting customers to become violently ill. The case, which has generated widespread public concern, centers on a delivery incident in which the food recipients claimed to have experienced immediate and distressing physical reactions—including intense nausea, vomiting, and painful burning sensations throughout their mouths, throats, and digestive tracts—after consuming a fast-food meal that was supposed to be safely delivered to their home.
According to detailed information released by the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office, the investigation began on December 7, when a local man contacted authorities to report the alarming episode. He recounted that after eating the food he had ordered through the DoorDash platform, both he and his wife experienced not only severe vomiting but also an unusual and painful burning feeling in multiple areas of their upper bodies. Concerned and bewildered by the symptoms, the man examined the takeout bag more carefully and quickly observed a suspicious red residue that appeared to have been sprayed or misted across the outside of the packaging.
Seeking to understand what might have occurred, the man then reviewed footage from his home’s video doorbell camera. That recording, according to law enforcement officials, clearly depicted the delivery driver’s actions. After dropping off the order on the porch and taking the customary delivery confirmation photograph required by the DoorDash app, the woman allegedly lingered for a brief moment and was seen holding a small, metallic aerosol can attached to her keychain. The footage, investigators say, appeared to show her deliberately spraying an unknown substance in the direction of the bag containing the customers’ food.
Using DoorDash’s internal records, detectives were able to identify the driver as Kourtney Stevenson, a resident of Kentucky. When contacted by law enforcement, Stevenson reportedly explained that she had been temporarily staying in the Evansville area to visit her father and had accepted a few delivery assignments through the DoorDash app while in town. She admitted to using pepper spray near the delivery but insisted that her actions were unrelated to the customers’ meal. In her account, she claimed that she had merely been attempting to deter or kill a spider that she believed was crawling near the food bag. However, investigators found this explanation unlikely. They noted that weather reports for that evening recorded a low temperature of approximately 35 degrees Fahrenheit, a climate in which spiders in Indiana are not typically active outdoors, meaning it would have been highly improbable for one to be present on the porch or food packaging.
When Stevenson subsequently declined law enforcement’s request to participate in an in-person interview, detectives sought and obtained a warrant for her arrest. She was charged with battery resulting in moderate bodily injury as well as consumer product tampering—both serious felony offenses. Authorities stated that she is currently in the process of being extradited from Kentucky to Indiana so that she can face the pending charges in court.
Following the public disclosure of the investigation, DoorDash released a formal statement addressing the incident. A spokesperson for the company described the alleged behavior as intolerable and reaffirmed the platform’s strict commitment to customer safety and trust. The spokesperson emphasized that DoorDash maintains a policy of absolute zero tolerance for any form of misconduct that endangers consumers, explaining that Stevenson’s access to the platform had been permanently revoked. They also confirmed that the company is fully cooperating with law enforcement agencies and providing all available data and assistance to support the ongoing investigation.
Both The New York Times and NBC News have independently reported on the case, noting that, at this time, it remains uncertain whether Stevenson has obtained legal representation or a defense attorney qualified to issue public statements on her behalf. The situation continues to evolve as authorities in Indiana move forward with the legal process and as the broader conversation intensifies about accountability, oversight, and consumer safety in the rapidly expanding gig economy sector.
Sourse: https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/13/doordash-driver-faces-felony-charges-after-allegedly-spraying-customers-food/
