Man held in slaying of Uber driver on eve of ride-share strike protesting unsafe conditions

In December, Mohammed al-Hijoj was driving for Uber to support his family, prosecutors and relatives say, when a passenger he picked up fatally shot him after he reached the drop-off point in the North Austin neighborhood.

A judge on Tuesday ordered an 18-year-old man detained while awaiting trial on murder charges just one day before a coalition of Uber and Lyft drivers go on a one-day strike to protest poor pay and unsafe working conditions amid instances of violence against the workers.

“They need to think about ways to protect the drivers and their families,” said Kawkab al-Hijoj, Mohammed’s sister, referring to the ride-share companies. “He came into this country 15 years ago looking for a better future for his family, for his kids.”

Cook County prosecutors charged Zayin Kelly with first-degree murder and armed robbery in the Dec. 3 killing of al-Hijoj, 39.

Family members packed the hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building after gathering outside the building with signs demanding justice in the slaying as well as fair working conditions for other drivers.

Mohammed al-Hijoj had been driving for 15 years in the Chicago area after moving from Jordan. Fellow drivers knew him as a friend who would bring them coffee or a snack when they were nearby and in between clients.

His sister said he was studying for a doctorate at Concordia University Chicago and was close to finishing his dissertation. He was married with three children.

“A lot of people love Mohammed,” Kawkab al-Hijoj said. “He is decent, respectful.”

While arguing for detention, Assistant State’s Attorney Anne McCord Rodgers said al-Hijoj picked up Kelly and three other males in the 1500 block of North Lawler Avenue on the city’s West Side and drove them a short distance to the 1700 block of North Lotus Avenue where the ride ended just after 5:30 p.m.

A witness parked outside saw a passenger climb from the back of the car to the front while another passenger patted down the driver as he raised his hands, McCord Rodgers said. The witness ran inside, heard gunshots and told his wife to call 911.

As the passengers ran away, Kelly accidentally shot himself while getting out of the car, she said.

The events were captured on private surveillance video, with the audio recording someone saying, “Call 911, I shot my leg,” McCord Rodgers alleged.

When arriving on the scene, police found a trail of blood that led from the car to Kelly’s home, prosecutors said.

Kelly asked a neighbor to drive him to the hospital, where he was treated for a gunshot wound to the leg, McCord Rodgers said. Investigators matched blood on his hospital gown to the blood trail at the crime scene, she said.

Investigators were able to connect a phone number and email address associated with the Uber account to Kelly, she said.

Kelly was on juvenile probation for robbery and aggravated battery, McCord Rodgers said.

Assistant Public Defender Joseph Crawford asked that Kelly not be detained, arguing that though the evidence suggests his client was present, the state did not show he was the shooter. He noted he had not yet heard the audio of the individual proclaiming that he shot himself.

“There is a level of trust in that who you are picking up is not going to rob you and murder you, and it’s precisely what this defendant did,” McCord Rodgers countered.

Weighing the evidence, Judge David Kelly said he believed the state met its burden of proof and ordered the defendant detained.

On Wednesday, ride-share drivers in Chicago plan to rally at O’Hare International Airport with other protests happening simultaneously across the country.

In a news release, the coalition of drivers said they are “seeing less and less money from each ride as Silicon Valley and Wall Street take an ever-increasing cut of driver earnings, despite drivers footing all industry expenses.”