North Texas UPS driver crashes after passing out from heat
NORTH TEXAS — A North Texas UPS driver is out of the hospital after passing out from the heat and the truck crashing.
A driver from Longview was called to the McKinney facility to drive on Friday, according to the Teamsters Local 767. That driver, described as a young man by the union, had been driving for a while he called in for help after experiencing heat-related symptoms.
The driver was vomiting and feeling ill, which caused him to pass out. The truck veered into coming traffic, nearly crashing into a red car before slamming into trees, Teamsters Local 767 said.
Teamsters Local 767 said the company did not follow "Recharge guidelines," and told the driver to bring the truck back to the facility.
"I personally believe when somebody calls in with some symptoms that he reported, UPS has got to take responsibility for this and shut these drivers down," said David Reeves, the principal officer for Teamsters Local 767. "They've gotta be responsible, frankly, for the safety of the driver along with the general public. It is a very scary video that could have led to some very catastrophic events."
The driver was hospitalized and released. The driver's identity has not been released.
According to the union, this was the third incident out of the McKinney facility.
"We are aware of an incident involving our driver in McKinney, TX," UPS said in a statement to CBS News Texas. "We care deeply about his safety and well-being. We are working with authorities to investigate and defer to them for questions."
UPS said it is committed to providing a safe working environment for employees, including comprehensive training and protocols to support employees and continuously work to improve these measures.
"We provide employees with specialized cooling gear, access to ice and water, and encourage our people to take extra time to cool-down anytime they need," UPS said in a statement.
The company said it invests more than $409 million annually in safety training in the U.S. and has added more cooling equipment to vehicles and facilities.