Mailman collapses and dies in front yard while out on delivery as sweltering 115F heatwave grips Texas
- United States Postal Service worker Eugene Gates Jr, 66, was on his usual route delivering post door to door in Lakewood, Dallas on Tuesday
- He collapsed in a front yard and the homeowner ran outside to perform CPR. His wife Carla received a call which said he was rushed to hospital but he died
- It is not clear whether Gates died from the sweltering 115 degree Fahrenheit heat but the temperature could have been a factor in his death
A Texas mailman collapsed and died in the front yard of a home while he was out on a delivery during the excessive heatwave which continues to grip the state.
United States Postal Service worker Eugene Gates Jr, 66, was on his usual route delivering post door to door in Lakewood, Dallas on Tuesday.
But he suddenly collapsed in a front yard and the homeowner ran outside to perform CPR.
His wife Carla received a call after 4pm which said he was rushed to hospital but he later died.
It is not clear whether Gates died from the sweltering 115 degree Fahrenheit heat but the temperature could have been a factor in his death.
A Texas mailman collapsed and died in the front yard of a home while he was out on a delivery during the excessive heatwave which continues to grip the state
United States Postal Service worker Eugene Gates Jr, 66, pictured with his wife Carla, was on his usual route delivering post door to door in Lakewood, Dallas on Tuesday.
Gates had worked for the USPS for nearly 40 years and left his home early for work at the Lakewood Postal Station in Dallas.
He went down his usual route before he collapsed and died during one of the hottest afternoons of the year with temperatures at the highest since 1980 and near record humidity.
The USPS has not confirmed if Gates died from a heat-related illness. ‘The postal service is deeply saddened by the loss of life… our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues at this time,’ a spokesman said.
He is survived by his wife Carla, two children and multiple grandchildren. They are still waiting for his cause of death to be released.
Megan Lucas described Gates as ‘just the sweetest man’ and said he delivered her mail for over a year.
‘He has been my mailman for over a year. I saw him yesterday,’ she told local television station Fox 4.
‘He was just the sweetest man. He really was.’
Another neighbor shared footage of Gates recently dropping off mail at her address and said she would provide him with a cold towel and water whenever she saw him.
‘He loved his job. He loved the neighbors,’ Lucas said. ‘That’s so sad that a wife is mourning her husband and children and grandchildren. This neighborhood will mourn him.’
USPS moved the start time for mailmen to 8.30am from 7.30am before Gates’ death.
But the carrier’s union had a meeting on Wednesday morning and the president said they are going to revert back.
He collapsed in a front yard and the homeowner ran outside to perform CPR. His wife Carla received a call which said he was rushed to hospital but he later died
Around 270 delivery drivers working for the USPS and UPS are estimated to have suffered serious heat exposure since 2015.
It is estimated that 53 workers in Texas have died since 2010 due to the extreme heat, according to an investigation by Columbia Journalism Investigations, National Public Radio and The Texas Newsroom.
Heat levels in Texas have reached such high levels they can cause cramps and exhaustion, especially for people without air conditioning, the National Weather Service said.
There are fears that the heatwave will pose a greater threat to life the longer the heatwave lasts.
‘Not only are the daytime temperatures and dew points abnormally high, producing some record heat index readings, but the overnight lows are also close to or at record levels,’ Alex Lamers, a forecaster with the Weather Prediction Centre told The New York Times.
