Northfield village president accosts Amazon driver reportedly blocking roadway

An Amazon driver is not pressing charges against Northfield’s village president following an altercation between the two on Jan. 25.

According to a police report obtained by The Record North Shore, a man upset by an Amazon truck blocking the roadway verbally abused the driver of the truck and threw the driver’s bluetooth speaker.

Northfield Village President Greg Lungmus confirmed to The Record via email that he was involved in the altercation at around 4:55 p.m. on Jan. 25 and said he was “upset after being unnecessarily … delayed” from exiting Thornwood Lane, a narrow roadway with only one outlet: southbound to Old Willow Road.

“I would characterize (my) actions as not appropriate and not in keeping with my character,” Lungmus wrote. “People who know me would describe me as calm, thoughtful and even tempered.”

Northfield police investigated the incident as an act of disorderly conduct but the driver declined on Jan. 30 to pursue the charges, according to the report.

The report says the Amazon driver was completing a delivery on Thornwood Lane on Jan 25 and, per Amazon policy, had to take a photo of the delivery and text it to the package recipient. While the driver was walking around the home attempting to gain cell service, Lungmus approached and became “very irate” when the driver ignored his requests to move the truck, according to the report.

Lungmus reportedly began yelling and cursing at the driver. A resident who reportedly witnessed the incident told police that Lungmus used the “F word” and other “bad words.” Lungmus then climbed into the Amazon truck’s front cabin to grab the driver’s Bluetooth speaker, which was amplifying music.

Lungmus threw the speaker, which struck the driver in the chest and fell to the ground. He told The Record that he threw it “underhand” and “any able-bodied person … should have easily caught the speaker.”

After that, Lungmus said he returned to his car and called police. When a police officer arrived, the officer requested that the Amazon driver move the truck, which the driver did, allowing Lungmus and another vehicle to travel the roadway.

Lungmus said he has not had any contact with the driver since the Jan. 25 incident. On Jan. 30, the driver declined to file criminal charges against Lungmus.

According to the report, Lungmus provided $200 in cash to the Amazon driver as “restitution” for the damaged speaker. Northfield police reportedly delivered the $200 to the Amazon driver on Feb. 1.

“It seemed like an appropriate conciliatory gesture on my part,” Lungmus said of the restitution.

Lungmus, who was recommended for his position by the Northfield Caucus, was elected Northfield’s village president in 2021 in an uncontested race. Previously, Lungmus was a village trustee from 2017-2021.

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