North Texas UPS driver crashes after passing out from heat, union says

ANNA, Texas – A North Texas UPS driver was taken to the hospital after allegedly passing out while behind the wheel because of this HEAT and crashing.

Friday, the van was on Sam Rayburn near the outer loop in Anna when it went off the road and crashed into trees near the highway.

The video shows the vehicle traveling at high speed and narrowly avoiding another vehicle before crashing.

“The car just kept going left, left, left and then as soon as that red car approaches him, I'm like, oh you know, this is serious. And once boom he hits the tree, I'm like this is serious .” said Henry Huynh who made the video.

Hunyh says the UPS truck was in front of him at first and overturned several times before climbing over the median and into oncoming traffic.

“As soon as he hit the tree, I looked and he was unconscious,” Hunyh said.

The Anna Police Department confirmed that they responded to the crash.

While under investigation, the Assistant Chief of Police confirms that a medical incident occurred and the driver was taken to hospital.

The driver was released from the hospital on Saturday and is recovering at home.

“This could have been a very dangerous situation for the driver along with the general public,” said David Reeves, President and Chief Executive Officer for Teamsters Local 767 Union.

Reeves says the driver was suffering from heat-related illness.

Temperatures reached 102 degrees in Dallas-Fort Worth on Friday.

Reeves says the driver called UPS to let them know he wasn't feeling well after six or seven hours on the job. The driver was told to leave his packages with another driver before finishing his shift, according to Reeves.

“The issue we have is that as soon as one of our drivers explains to the company that they have severe heat injuries, they have to shut down for the day. This is unacceptable,” he said.

Reeves says he plans to sit down with the company to discuss what happened.

“We are aware of an incident involving our driver in McKinney, TX. We care deeply for his safety and well-being. We are working with authorities to investigate and question them,” UPS said in a statement for FOX 4.

(Source: Teamsters Local 767)

The company did not respond to our inquiry about the claim that the driver had to continue driving, even after reporting that they felt ill.

“I think UPS really needs to contain their safety program as we go through this summer to try to prevent any other injuries or any other incidents like this from happening, certainly throughout this summer, so we can let's tackle it for next year,” Reeves said.

UPS sent information about the company's investment in heat safety protocols.

The company says it has a program called Recharge that educates drivers and employees on how to stay hydrated.

UPS said it provides employees with specialized cooling equipment, access to ice and water, and encourages people to take extra cooling time whenever they need it. They also said more than 200,000 fans have been installed inside package delivery trucks.

All vehicles purchased after January 1, 2024 will have air conditioning installed inside.

The local union says that at this point the vast majority of vehicles do not have air conditioning.