Amazon driver torches coworker’s car after package dispute
A routine morning delivery turned into a crime scene after a squabble involving drivers from a third-party Amazon delivery service escalated into arson.
Just before 10 a.m. on April 19, North Haven, Connecticut, police responded to a call. It came from Extra Space Storage at 453 Washington Ave. Someone claimed that an unwanted person remained there following a heated exchange between a crew leader and a driver. Both work for a third-party company delivering packages on behalf of Amazon. Police say the dispute started over items dropped at the wrong address.
That’s when things took a dangerous turn for the delivery crew
Police say the suspect, identified as 35-year-old Diogo Dorea Da Cunha of Bridgeport, allegedly set the crew leader’s vehicle on fire. The fire damaged the interior passenger compartment extensively. The crew leader and nearby drivers used water and a fire extinguisher to stop the blaze from spreading further.
A North Haven Police detective trained in fire investigations responded to assist patrol officers at the scene. Da Cunha was arrested shortly afterward.
The Amazon service driver now faces multiple charges, including third-degree arson, reckless burning, and first-degree criminal mischief. Da Cunha is currently being held on bond.
Amazon partners with a bunch of third-party delivery services under its Delivery Service Partner (DSP) program
As of recent estimates, there are around 3,000-plus DSP companies operating globally.
These aren’t your typical big-name courier services like UPS or FedEx. These are small independent businesses contracted by Amazon to handle “last mile” deliveries (the final stretch from warehouse to doorstep). Each DSP typically runs 20 to 40 vans, hires its own drivers, and follows Amazon’s delivery protocols (and super tight schedules).
So, the Amazon DSP program accounts for tens of thousands of drivers delivering packages daily. And that’s not counting Flex drivers (the gig workers who deliver using their own vehicles, we see those a lot here in Central Ohio) or larger logistics companies that sometimes subcontract for special routes or high-volume periods.
