Widow of UPS driver who collapsed on the job calls for better worker protections in extreme heat
NORTH TEXAS — The widow of a UPS driver who died last year is calling for safer conditions for workers as temperatures spike. Her comments follow the death of a UPS worker in Bell County Thursday and a crash Friday involving a second worker near McKinney. In both cases, there have been questions over the role heat exhaustion may have played.
"I saw the video of that driver plowing into trees and then, you know, they said, it was from the McKinney center and my heart just stopped," said Neysa Lambeth. "I spent the entire day yesterday bawling my eyes out. I couldn't believe it was happening again."
Her husband, Chris Begley, was a dedicated UPS driver for 28 years.
"He showed up to our very first date in his UPS uniform," she said.
But, working long hours in trucks with no air conditioning had its impact.
"He would literally come home and collapse in the chair for the night every day in the summertime," said Lambeth.
Twice, Lambeth said, she had to pick him up after he got sick on the job from the summer heat.
"He was nauseous. He was not able to continue. He was getting dizzy," said Lambeth.
The third time it happened, it was 103 degrees.
Lambeth was out of town caring for her father in his final days when she discovered her husband had been dropped off at home alone after collapsing on the job.
"He was disoriented. He didn't know when he had gotten home. He didn't know how long he had been passed out. He got frustrated with me for asking so many questions," she said.
Days later, he collapsed again and died.
UPS was hit with a $66,000 fine after an OSHA investigation found the company failed to ensure Begley had access to medical care.
The company says it's investing more than $409 million annually in safety training, outfitting its workers with specialized cooling gear, and adding equipment to its vehicles and facilities to protect people from the heat.
"They have to be responsible for the safety of the drivers..." said David Reeves, president of the Teamsters Local 767.
The union has blasted the company for failing to fully implement some of its own protocols. It said the worker captured on video crashing Friday was told to drive back to the UPS center after reporting he was sick and vomiting, rather than wait for help to be dispatched to his location.
UPS says it is still investigating what happened.
"The feedback I've received from some of the drivers has said nothing changed," said Lambeth. "It's got to change. These guys are dying. And families are going through what I've been through in the past year and it's horrific."
UPS has confirmed the employee who died in Bell County near Temple Friday was Luis Grimaldo.
"At this time, there has been no indication of heat stress," it said of the death.