Delivery Driver in Viral Strickland Dirt-Bike Ramp Crash Says He Was Fired, Launches $3,500 GoFundMe
A video shared on social media by UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland went viral this week: he let an Amazon delivery driver ride his dirt bike up a ramp, and the driver crashed hard, bike and all, onto the ground. The driver, Gordon Booth, told TMZ on November 12 that the viral moment has cost him his job, and that he has launched a GoFundMe with a $3,500 target.
Booth recalled that he was near the end of his route, with five stops left, when he pulled into the neighborhood, saw someone on a dirt bike and recognized Strickland, so he started shouting his name. Strickland told him to pull up to the house, and the first thing he asked was whether Booth wanted to ride the dirt bike. Booth said he rode dirt bikes all the time as a kid but had never done a ramp: "I knew I wasn't going to land, honestly. I was doing it for Sean Strickland." Fellow UFC fighter Anthony Hernandez was also present; according to Sherdog and other outlets, Hernandez had warned Strickland beforehand that the driver did not look able to ride. Booth flew off the ramp, lost control and went down with the bike on top of him, but escaped serious injury and got back up. After Strickland posted the clip to Instagram, it spread quickly and was reposted by multiple MMA accounts on November 10.
Booth said he works for a third-party delivery company, and that Amazon contacted the company, which said it was investigating alleged property damage. He told his boss that Strickland and Hernandez had both said they were riding the bike right after he left and that it was "100 percent okay," but he was fired anyway: "I've got to find another job, I guess." According to Sportskeeda, Amazon has not commented publicly on the incident and has not confirmed Booth's account.
Booth then launched a GoFundMe titled "The Amazon Driver Dirt Bike Fall Victim." On the page he wrote that he is trying to stay on top of his financial responsibilities while making sure his kid has what he needs, with his son's birthday coming up: "I'm not asking anyone to solve all my problems. I'm simply asking for a helping hand during a difficult time." According to Bloody Elbow, the $3,500 target is intended to cover rent, bills and his son's birthday expenses, and the page had raised $310 from nine donors less than a day after launching.
Source: TMZ
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 资料图：UFC选手Sean Strickland肖像（MMAnytt摄，CC BY 3.0，经Wikimedia Commons），非涉事视频画面
