Tragedy Strikes Family Of Postal Worker Delivering Mail In Extreme Heat

NORTH HILLS (CBSLA) — A family is in mourning after a mother and grandmother who worked as a mail carrier died during the heat wave that hit Southern California over the weekend.

The Los Angeles County Coroner said Peggy Frank, 63, was found unresponsive in her mail truck Friday afternoon in the Woodland Hills area, where temperatures reached 117 degrees.

"To have my mom 107 [degrees], humidity, carrying the mailbag around with no air conditioning in the car — yeah, I'm sure she's probably gonna overheat," Frank's son Kirk Kessler told CBS2 News.

After multiple attempts by paramedics to revive her, Frank was pronounced dead. She had been with the U.S. Postal Service for 30 years and was just a few years away from retirement.

Residents in the area saw the activity of emergency crews but had no idea what was happening.

"She was very nice," said one man who was driving by the area Monday afternoon. "Now her face is coming [...] in front of me, honestly, because I talked to her, and it becomes personal."

Frank is survived by her two children and several grandchildren.

"She's great, friendly, sensitive, always there for ya," said Kessler.

The coroner said it's not yet clear if the heat was the cause of her death. She had recently returned to work after having been off the job for more than two months with a broken ankle.

USPS would not go into details about Frank's death but said their thoughts and prayers were with the family.

In Hemet over the weekend, an elderly couple was found dead inside their RV. Their air conditioner was not on when they were found.