Cartons of mail left in street in southwest suburbs after being spilled by U.S. Postal Service truck
PALOS HILLS, Ill. (CBS) -- In a delivery disaster in Palos Hills, video shows a box truck spilling cartons of USPS mail onto the street.
As CBS 2's Marissa Perlman reported, the mess of mail was left behind at 103rd Street and Harlem Avenue early Monday morning. Video shows a box truck spilling what appears to be hundreds of pieces of mail – leaving the busy intersection covered in it.
We spoke with a man who heard what happened, and rushed over to help.
Ammar Naser owns a nearby hookah business. He heard a loud noise and ran over to see what happened.
"As I'm getting into my car, I hear this loud commotion," he said. "First instinct, I'm like, man, I hope no one's hurt. Let me go make sure everyone's safe."
He saw crates of packages and mail lining the street along Harlem Avenue. He immediately called police.
"All you see is these six metal USPS crates with mail and packages all over the floor – so I tell a buddy of mine that was with me: 'Park your car and turn on the hazard lights. We don't want anyone to ram into us,'" Naser said. "Late night, you know, you're not expecting there to be any hazards in the street."
Naser also posted this TikTok video.
@chicagocomedy1 Aint no one in chicago gettin their mail tommorow 😂😂#chicago #arabtiktok #hookah #fyp #bridgeview #illinois#southsuburbs ♬ original sound - Chicago
The truck from which the mail spilled was nowhere to be found when Naser came on the scene. Within minutes, the Cook County Sheriff's office arrived.
Naser later learned the latch of the box truck fell off, and the driver took off – dropping mail into the street.
"The driver, actually - his door fell off," Naser said. "The back door fell off, and everything started tumbling over, and he continued driving."
Naser said he saw packages spotted for miles down Harlem Avenue. He is just hopeful that all the mail eventually finds its rightful home.
"Hopefully, they'll figure it out," he said in narrating the TikTok video.
Eventually, both Cook County Sheriff's police and the truck driver were on the scene picking up the mail. They say the mess was cleaned up within 30 minutes.
The U.S. Postal Service released this statement:
"At approximately 3 am Monday, June 20th mail containers in a postal truck became unsecured and burst through the rear vehicle door in Bridgeview spilling onto the street. The mail had come from the South Suburban facility in Bedford Park. Several USPS employees and vehicles came to collect the mail and equipment that was secured by the Bridgeview and Palos Heights Police Departments. A thorough search was conducted to make sure all mail was picked up. The mail was returned to the plant and reworked for delivery today. USPS thanks the Bridgeview and Palos Heights Police for their assistance."