North Texas UPS driver's crash brings back safety concerns for postal workers in summer heat

UPS crash brings back summer heat safety concerns

The UPS truck crash last week is bringing letter carrier safety concerns back into the forefront as the summer heat shows no signs of letting up.

A UPS driver is out of the hospital after his union says he passed out from heat exhaustion and crashed.

Another driver got video of the crash, and the incident is getting attention from U.S. postal workers.

Video from last Friday shows the UPS truck driver veering into oncoming traffic on the Sam Rayburn Tollway in Collin County. The driver went off the road and crashed into a tree.

The union representing the worker said the driver called UPS to report that he wasn’t feeling well and was told to drop off his packages with another driver before ending his shift.

"This can't continue to happen to put the packages over their employees’ safety, along with the general public," said David Reeves, President and Principal Officer for the Teamsters Local 767 Union.

UPS told FOX 4 it is aware of the incident and is working with police on the investigation. The company also said it provides workers with cooling gear, ice, water and other items.

The truck the driver was operating did not have AC.

By Monday morning, the incident was getting attention from other delivery workers as well.

Kim Lewis is the local union president for the National Association of Letter Carriers. She says USPS workers were briefed on the UPS incident before heading out on their routes.

"They did speak on the incident involving the UPS driver and their suggestion to a lot of carriers was to do everything they could do to remain hydrated, drink as much water as they could," she said.

With several more days of triple-digit heat in North Texas, Lewis hoped managers would encourage carriers to take additional breaks.

"All letter carriers are entitled to 10-minute breaks," she said. "One is normally in the office, and the other is on the street. That's the reason why I said that. There's a need for them to take additional comfort stops."

Union: UPS driver crashed after passing out due to heat

A North Texas UPS driver was sent to the hospital after allegedly passing out while behind the wheel and crashing. Video shows the truck careening off the road in Anna and crashing into trees nearby. The local Teamsters union says the driver passed out due to the heat.

Last year, Dallas USPS worker Eugene Gates, passed out and died from heat-related illness. OSHA fined that branch, and there was a congressional investigation.

However, Lewis is hoping an OSHA proposal for mandatory breaks and other heat-related policies will become actual rules. She said morale has been impacted.

North Texas seeing increase in heat-related calls

Temperatures are climbing up above 100 degrees in North Texas and the heat index is even higher. Medical crews have responded to dozens of heat-related calls.

"It hasn't been very positive. But they are hoping that, as I spoke with you about the OSHA proposed rule, we are hoping that that gets passed. Get it adopted so that the postal service will be made to do something to protect a lot of cars. Otherwise, it's not going to happen. They're not going to do it on their own."

The name of the UPS driver hasn’t been released. It’s also unclear if that driver has returned to work.