Elderly veteran in a coma after alleged attack by DoorDash driver with prior conviction for road rage
A 75-year-old veteran remains in a coma after a violent confrontation with a DoorDash driver who was previously convicted of road rage.
Lloyd Poole has been hospitalized since December 28 after allegedly being punched by Ryan Turner, 40, in Wixom, Michigan, after the elderly man told him to slow down while driving through his neighborhood.
Poole suffered a severe brain injury and remains unconscious after part of his skull was removed during emergency surgery to relieve a brain bleed, his family told FOX2. They added that they have been taking shifts at the hospital.
Turner, who was arrested and charged with one count of aggravated assault, has posted a $35,000 bond and was released from the Oakland County Jail last Thursday.
“He sucker-punched my dad, and my dad never got up, and he drove away,” Poole’s daughter, Jen Shaw, told the news outlet. “Could be like this for a day, could be like this for a week, or a year.”
Wixom police officers responded to a call just before 5:30 p.m. on December 28 to reports of an elderly man lying unconscious in the roadway. Poole had reportedly walked down his driveway and out into the road to confront Turner about driving too fast through the neighborhood.
Turner, who later told police he felt threatened during the encounter, struck Poole with a closed fist. The punch caused Poole to fall backward, hit his head on the road, and lose consciousness, police said. Turner then allegedly drove away, leaving Poole in the street.
“Punched him right in the side of the head,” Shaw said. “My dad fell, never got up, never moved, and the DoorDash driver got back in his vehicle and drove away.”
Poole was taken to hospital with a black eye and catastrophic head injuries. Shaw said her father has not regained consciousness.
“He’s not responding. He can’t talk. He’s not awake,” she said. “We don’t know when he’s going to get out of this hospital bed. That may never happen.”
Court records, obtained by FOX2, revealed that Turner was previously charged and convicted in a separate road rage assault in 2022 and lost his driver’s license as a result.
DoorDash confirmed Turner has since been removed from the platform but declined to say whether his prior conviction violated company safety protocols.
In a statement to The Independent, a DoorDash spokesperson said: “What occurred was absolutely appalling and unacceptable. DoorDash has zero tolerance for violence and we have permanently removed the individual’s access to the platform.”
The spokesperson added: “We are working with local law enforcement to support their investigation to ensure justice is served.”
Poole’s family is pushing for Turner’s bond conditions to be changed to keep him away from Poole’s home, which they say is just a five-minute walk from where Turner lives.
