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Ernie Aimone, 81, said he had never feared for his life in his 40 years delivering pizzas in Chicago until last Wednesday, when he was mugged by teenage carjackers on his route.
“I had just finished delivering a pizza and I was walking back to my car and someone behind me was yelling ‘give me the keys, give me the keys’ and ran up to me really fast from behind,” Aimone told Fox News Digital.
One of the attackers punched him in the face – a “glancing blow,” the former Army sergeant said – and he “lay down and made them believe he was unconscious” as they drove away in his 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe.
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Aimone said she was just two blocks from her house and ran there to call her boss.
“He was frantic, saying, ‘They got my car, they got my car. They got food from delivery,'” said Frank Demonte, Aimone’s boss at Joe’s in Higgins. “I said, ‘Wow, I don’t care about the food, are you okay?'”
Hours after the 9:30 p.m. carjacking, state police spotted Aimone’s car on a highway, according to an incident report obtained by Fox News Digital, but the driver did not stop.
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The robbers crashed Aimone’s vehicle in the subsequent police chase; Police arrested a juvenile suspect, according to a news release, who Aimone said was only 15 years old.
Her insurance may not cover major damage because Aimone was using the car for commercial purposes, according to a GoFundMe started by the Gladstone Chamber of Commerce to get the beloved driver back on the road.
“He’s like a local legend,” House Speaker Dan Ciolino said. New York Post. “He has been loyal to Joe’s for 40 years. He served our country. He deserves our support in his time of need.”
“He has given himself to so many people in the community and has a great relationship. He is a wonderful person,” Ciolino told Fox News Digital. “He’ll do magic tricks for kids, he’s been so ingrained in everything that happens on the northwest side of town for so many years that everyone knows him.”
Since the fundraising campaign launched last Wednesday, more than $54,000 has been raised for the “party on Chicago’s Northwest Side,” according to the GoFundMe page.
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Demonte, who has known Aimone since childhood, when his father owned the family restaurant, said this was the first time one of his delivery drivers got in trouble.
“(But) this kind of thing is happening a lot here… in 40 years we’ve never had a driver get mugged or anything like that. This shouldn’t happen to anyone, especially an 81-year-old man,” Demonte said. “It’s disgusting.”
Aimone emerged with only a slight bruise on her face. Despite her ordeal, she intends to return to delivering pizzas, although she may stop working late into the night.
“I can’t retire, I would go crazy,” he told Fox News Digital. “Walking through plants, watching TV, that’s not me.”
“The food is delicious and I like the people when I deliver… I love people. I couldn’t wait to go out when the pandemic hit. I know a lot of people were afraid to go out and stuff, but I wanted to help people ” he said of his four decades delivering pizzas for Joe’s. “If they have a dog, I pet it. With the kids, I wave. If I have time, I do a little card trick, a very quick one.”
His daughter Robyn Aimone said the outpouring of support from his community has been touching and eye-opening for her father.
“His whole life… he always thought he hadn’t done enough for me and my family,” he told Fox News Digital. “Now he can finally see that people love him and respect him. Now he sees it. I think it’s very important to see him and be recognized for that.”
Aimone’s daughter said her father initially felt like a “coward” for “not fighting back” when he was attacked.
“I told him, ‘Dad, you’re not a coward, you’re a hero. You stayed down… (and) came home to me.”
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