A viral video out of Flower Mound shows a woman harassing a delivery driver, using phrases like “you’re an illegal” and “you’re taking away jobs.”
The city’s mayor says that behavior isn’t representative of the community.
The video was posted to Instagram Sept. 23 by the alleged delivery driver, Cris Scandela. Scandela’s post has since racked up over 260,000 likes and spread across social media.
She did not immediately respond to a request for comment via Instagram.
In a follow-up post, Scandela said the woman followed her outside of the Walmart where she picks up delivery orders. The woman approached and appeared to begin taking photos after Scandela got into her car and rolled the windows down, not realizing she had been followed.
“When I saw that I was being recorded, I took out my phone and started recording, too,” Scandela said in Spanish.
She said she did not intend to fight with the woman or “put the lady in the wrong place” by posting the video.
“Many people asked me why she was so angry with me,” Scandela added. “I don't know.”
The woman harassing Scandela in the viral video appears to be Tonya Chadwell, a 58 year-old Flower Mound resident, according to public records. KERA could not get in touch with her.
Her daughter, Taye Chadwell, posted an apology to Facebook Sept. 24. She wrote, “I am completely and utterly embarrassed and saddened by my mother’s actions and do not condone or support this kind of behavior at all.”
As of Friday afternoon, the post had received over 2,500 likes and 570 comments.
Taye Chadwell wrote that she is not on speaking terms with her mother due to “this type of behavior, aggression, and her racism towards my Hispanic boyfriend.”
A Flower Mound Police Department spokesperson confirmed that neither party filed a police report.
Flower Mound Mayor Cheryl Moore said the town, with a population of around 80,000, is inclusive and that Tonya Chadwell’s words don’t reflect the community’s values.
“We have many community events, many opportunities to come together, and we invite individuals from all ethnicities, all races, all religions,” Moore said. “We just strive to be inclusive with everyone.”
A woman in New Tazewell, Tennessee also named Tonya Chadwell said she’s received multiple death threats and hundreds of messages from people across the country, despite not being the person in the video.
She told KERA, “I don't know who the lady in the car is, but nobody needs to be talked to like that.”
Got a tip? Email Andy Lusk at alusk@kera.org.
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