A Kentucky DoorDash driver pepper sprayed a delivery order, making customers sick, according to the charges pending against her. Kourtney Stevenson, is facing serious criminal charges after a doorbell camera captured her spraying a mystery substance directly onto a customer’s food. The Kentucky women temporarily staying with her father in Indiana, claimed she was only trying to scare away a spider – despite freezing winter temperatures that make such a scenario highly unlikely.
A former DoorDash delivery driver was arrested after a doorbell camera captured her spraying a substance onto a couple’s food order. She faces charges including battery and consumer product tampering. pic.twitter.com/K4Z50JCJQU
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) December 13, 2025
The bizarre DoorDash delivery driver incident unfolded on December 7 when an Indiana couple ordered food through DoorDash for a quiet evening at home. What arrived instead turned into a disturbing health scare and a viral crime story.
After eating part of their fast-food order, the Evansville, Indiana couple reported intense burning sensations in their mouths, throats, and stomachs, followed by vomiting. Alarmed, they reviewed their home’s security footage, expecting perhaps a mix-up with the order. What they saw was far more troubling.
The video shows DoorDash delivery driver Kourtney Stevenson placing the food on the porch, snapping the required photo for the app, and then pulling a small aerosol can from her keychain. Stevenson appears to spray the substance directly toward the bag of food before calmly walking away.
Indiana authorities later identified the DoorDash driver as 29-year-old Kourtney Stevenson of western Kentucky. When questioned by investigators, Kourtney Stevenson claimed she had seen a spider near the food and used pepper spray to scare it away, insisting she did not intend to contaminate the order.
Evansville law enforcement officers were skeptical almost immediately. Investigators noted that temperatures in the area that evening hovered in the mid-30s — far too cold for spiders to be active outdoors, especially on exposed surfaces like a front porch. Indiana deputies also confirmed that no spider was visible in the footage, further undermining Stevenson’s explanation.
On December 7, a @DoorDash driver apparently pepper sprayed the food after she delivered it.
One of the people in the house got sick after consuming some of the food.
Sheriff’s office is investigating.
What the hell is wrong with people? pic.twitter.com/wQgse4FbhJ
— Kentucky Girl (@Notwokenow) December 10, 2025
Both DoorDash customers sought medical attention after experiencing symptoms consistent with pepper spray exposure. Police later confirmed that pepper spray was recovered during the investigation.
Kourtney Stevenson was arrested several days later in Kentucky and is now facing multiple felony charges, including battery resulting in bodily injury and consumer product tampering resulting in harm. Authorities say she will be extradited to Indiana to face prosecution.
The DoorDash driver case has raised alarms among consumers and law enforcement alike. Food tampering is considered a serious offense, particularly when it results in physical harm. Prosecutors say cases like this are treated aggressively because of the potential for far more dangerous outcomes.
“This could have been much worse,” one law enforcement official noted about the crime, pointing out that DoorDash customers have no way of knowing what substance has been sprayed onto their food. “People trust delivery services with their safety,” according to the New York Post.
The Evansville couple involved said the incident has permanently changed how they view food delivery. They described feeling frightened and violated, noting that the unknown nature of the substance initially left them fearing poisoning or something even more dangerous.
DoorDash confirmed that the driver’s account was immediately deactivated and stated that it has zero tolerance for any behavior that compromises customer safety. The company says it is cooperating fully with law enforcement.
Online reaction has ranged from disbelief to dark humor, with many pointing out the implausibility of a spider being active outdoors in Kentucky during early December. Others expressed broader concerns about the safety of gig-economy food delivery and the lack of direct oversight once food leaves the restaurant.
For Indiana prosecutors, however, the case is no laughing matter. It now stands as a stark example of how a routine delivery can turn into a felony investigation — and how one illogical excuse, paired with cold weather and clear video evidence, can quickly unravel.
As the case moves forward, authorities say they hope it serves as a warning: tampering with food, for any reason, will be treated as a serious crime — spider or no spider.
