Food delivery driver escapes knifepoint robbery, NJ cops say

CLIFTON — Two people including a juvenile have been arrested in Passaic County for trying to rob a food delivery driver who barely got away, authorities said.

The victim was making a delivery to Chittenden Road on Tuesday evening around 9 p.m. but realized something was wrong when she could not find the exact address, Clifton police said. Her suspicions grew when she saw a young woman standing in a nearby driveway who was trying to coax the driver out of her car.

Keeping a cool head, the driver refused to open her door. The woman in the driveway then went up to the vehicle and tried to force open the passenger side door.

Suddenly, a man with a knife emerged from the darkness and began tapping the blade on the driver's side window.

The delivery driver sped off and went straight to Clifton police headquarters. She told her story to investigators and cops went out to the area to search for the perpetrators.

After looking for some time, two people were spotted near a bus stop on Broad Street and arrested.

Clifton police said one of the suspects, a 17-year-old female teen, had a loaded handgun. She is charged with robbery and weapons offenses.

The other suspect has been identified as Najim Wadud, 18, of East Orange. He is charged with robbery, employing a juvenile in commission of a crime, and weapons offenses.

Police said this robbery is the latest in a series of similar incidents in North Jersey in which food delivery drivers have been robbed and assaulted.

Rick Rickman is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at richard.rickman@townsquaremedia.com

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