Video: FreshDirect Delivery Guy Attacked With Mallet on Flatbush Avenue

By SIMONE WILSON

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN, NY — In a viral-ish video that has no doubt struck fear into the hearts of FreshDirect delivery guys everywhere — and anyone with the misfortune of having to commute down Flatbush Avenue — 34-year-old Queens resident Damian Bailey can be seen chasing Kevin Tello, an employee for the FreshDirect grocery delivery service, down Flatbush, not far from Barclays Center, and beating him repeatedly in the street with a mallet.

The footage was covertly filmed from the back of an Uber last Sunday by a man named Roose Wayne.

"I saw the attack unfold in front of me," Wayne told Patch via Gchat, "and I stumble with the camera because I wasn't anticipating what I was seeing, and wasn't sure if I should get out and help or not. I realized I wouldn't be able to stop the man with the hammer, and decided to keep recording because at the very least this was evidence of what is happening."

The victim, identified by the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office as Kevin Tello, told investigators that he was driving down Flatbush in his Isuzu truck when his attacker, identified by the DA as Damian Bailey, crashed into the truck with a Ford van.

But when Tello exited his truck and approached Bailey for his contact information, he said Bailey tried to drive his van away from the crash scene. (Wayne, the videographer, confirmed that he "saw the van speeding away.")

According to testimony from the FreshDirect delivery man, he then "climbed on top of the hood of said van to prevent [Bailey] from leaving the scene of the collision" — only to watch Bailey "drive said van for a distance with [Tello] clinging onto the hood."

Wayne's video appears to begin directly after this insanity, around 12 p.m.

Bailey can be seen repeatedly striking Tello with what investigators called a "rubber mallet" in the middle of Flatbush Avenue, causing him to fall to the pavement.

The delivery man came away from the attack with fractured vertebrae, bruises to the shoulder and knee and "substantial pain," he told cops.

Tello also said the attack caused him to "fear further physical injury, and to become alarmed and annoyed."

The alleged mallet attacker was arrested at 98 Flatbush Ave. around 12:40 p.m. and charged with assault, criminal possession of a weapon and menacing, according to the NYPD.

FreshDirect spokesman David Helfenbein sent the following statement to Patch.

“Our hearts go out to Kevin and his loved ones. We have visited him, are in close contact with his family, and our thoughts and prayers are with them during this difficult time. Our primary concern is always the safety of our employees and we were saddened to hear about this violent and senseless crime. We want to recognize the incredible efforts of the NYPD and FDNY in stopping the attack and rushing our driver to the hospital.”