GoFundMe set up for Antioch barber mowed down by customer upset over haircut

ANTIOCH, Calif. (KTVU) - The family of a barber in Antioch who was mowed down by an angry customer last week after an argument over a haircut is getting some financial relief. 

A GoFundMe page has raised $4,965 for Brian Martin, the owner of Delta Barber Shop, who was hurt when a mother became upset over her son's haircut and rammed her car into his storefront last Wednesday. 

The GoFundMe account was created by Martin's niece, Heidi Martin, who wrote that he suffered a broken leg and will likely be out of work for months. 

Brian Martin is the Antioch barber who suffered a broken leg after a mother rammed her Prius into him. Police and witnesses say she was upset after her son's haircut. Martin is "very loved," his business partner said.

Police are still searching for the mother who they identified as 28-year-old Ruby Delgadillo of Brentwood. They said she is likely driving her car with the California license plate number 8LHB387.

According to Martin's family, he has owned the barbershop, located on the 1600 block of A Street, for 29 years. He had surgery on Thursday for his leg injury and later posted on his Facebook account that the surgery at John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek went well. 

Before the surgery, Martin also posted that he was praying for the "lady who hit me." He said she had two young boys in the car with her when she took off. 

"That's very typical of him," said his business partner, Dustin Souders. "To be thinking of other people." 

Souders said that Delgadillo is a regular customer and he has no idea why she would get so angry on Wednesday afternoon. He said she was kicking the shop door after the cut about 3:45 p.m. Her son is about 7 or 8 years old, he said. 

She left, Souders said, and then she came back. Martin went outside to take a picture of her car, and that's when witnesses say she plowed into the barber and the store next to his. Video at the scene showed Martin being wheeled out on a gurney from inside his shop, nestled in a suburban strip mall. 

Officers interviewed witnesses and determined this act was intentional, Lt. Powell Meads said in a news release.

The mother's anger apparently stemmed from the haircut the barber gave to her son, although why she didn’t like the cut was not explained. 

One witness at the scene told KTVU that he saw some of what happened.

“She took the kid to have a haircut, paid for it, and came back,” the man said. “She complained about the haircut, and they got into an argument. I saw the car taking off, backing out, and take off real fast." 

Delgadillo has a prior criminal record.

In 2017, she was charged with a felony for possessing more than 14.25 grams of heroin for sale. In May, she ended up pleading no contest to misdemeanor possession of an injection device.

She received probation for three years and was sentenced to 90 days of county jail. Also, the standard drug terms were also part of her sentence, according to the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office. 

On Yelp, the barbershop received many flattering reviews, both of the barbers and the cuts. One commenter said that the barbers are especially proficient at cutting the hair of children with autism. Martin posted on his Facebook page that his first customer of Wednesday morning is an orchard owner who brought Fuji apples to the United States. "I love my job," Martin said. 

Souders said that security guards at the hospital asked if Martin had an official fan club because he had so many visitors.

"He is very loved," Souders said.

Anyone with information on this case or on the whereabouts of Delgadillo is asked to call the Antioch Police Department non-emergency line at (925)778-2441.

If you wish to donate to Brian Martin's medical expenses click here.