JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The heartbroken mother of a man gunned down while driving for Uber opened up to News4JAX about how his death has affected their family.
“I don’t understand taking life,” she said. “I don’t understand.”
It’s now been a few weeks since Bryant Grund, 31, picked up a young man for an Uber ride. But it turns out, that the young man he picked up was the target of a $20,000 gang hit that was carried out that night, according to police. Grund, who was an innocent bystander, was killed in the shooting that also took the life of the young passenger.
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Two people have been charged in the hit, Ju’Quan Mills, 22, and Diamond Harris, 23.
Grund’s mother, Heidi Doyle is not only grieving, she’s also struggling financially because her son helped support her and his two younger siblings.
“He was such a gentle soul,” Doyle said of Grund.
Doyle said Grund was living with her and his two younger siblings, ages 12 and 14, when he was working as an Uber driver in recent weeks. He was transitioning from working as a long-haul truck driver to a warehouse management job in Georgia. They expected to move as a family in the coming months, she said.
“Those are good things that we had planned,” she said. “To focus just on what they are, what they were, in my mind right now, is to have a lot of sorrow. That’s the deviation of the path.”
Her son was a victim of what police said was a targeted hit on someone he happened to pick up for his ride-sharing job.
“Where somebody takes a life is not the same as having an accident, having an oops,” she said. “Two cars coming together is a tragedy. This is a catastrophe. And that’s a difference. Because no one should ever be able to take another one’s life. It’s sacred. You just don’t do that.”
She said he wanted more time with his family and was on his way to his dream of one day owning his own truck and working for himself.
“He wanted to go on hikes and, and live well and appreciate every last little thing and experience things he wanted, to go to the movies and have dinner out and really live life,” Doyle said.
Now, his life has been cut short, and his family’s life has been thrown into uncertainty. Doyle said she works from home but they depended on Grund’s income. In a few days, they’ll run out of money to pay for the hotel where they’ve been living. She’s asking for support to help them find a place to stay and get back on their feet.
“It’s sometimes just a kind word. Sometimes it’s a direction. Sometimes you might hold information that they need,” she said.
An online fundraiser has been set up for the family.
Both suspects in the deadly shooting are set to be arraigned next week.
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