DoorDash Driver Shot, Killed While Delivering Food In NJ: Cops

PATERSON – A DoorDash driver was shot and killed this weekend while delivering food in New Jersey, authorities said. The woman reportedly was striving for success the music industry when she was killed.

Petra Rhoden, 43, of Paterson was in the driver’s seat of her vehicle Friday when she was discovered after she had just crashed through a fence and struck a shed, according to the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office.

The officers observed that she had an apparent gunshot wound and immediately started CPR. Rhoden was transported to St. Joseph’s University Medical Center where she died from her wounds a short time later, according to the PCPO.

Rhoden was discovered at approximately 10:22 p.m. when officers responded to the intersection of Harrison Street and Rosa Parks Boulevard in Paterson in response to a report of shots fired, according to the PCPO.

The initial investigation revealed that Rhoden was making a DoorDash food delivery in the area of 259 Harrison Street where she was shot, and she then drove off before crashing a short distance away, the PCPO said.

Her brother, Rick Rhoden, told NJ Advance Media the two of them had been working together in the music industry, and that music was his sister’s passion in life. “She was just a nice person. Giving, loving and caring,” Rick Rhoden told nj.com. “She would do anything for anybody.”

The investigation is active and ongoing. More information will be released when it becomes available.

The Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office asks anyone with additional information about this incident to contact on the tips line at 1-877-370-PCPO or tips@passaiccountynj.org or contact the Paterson Police Detective Bureau at 973-321-1120.