UPS Worker Killed by Falling Packages

Safety at Work

Richmond, CA (WorkersCompensation.com) – First responders said a UPS worker found under a pile of packages died from the packages falling on her.

On Sept. 21, UPS driver Shelma Reyna Guerrero, 43, was loading packages inside a cargo trailer at the UPS facility in Richmond, Calif., officials said. Police said she was working alone inside a trailer around 4:15 p.m. when a stack of packages fell on top of her. A co-worker later discovered her injured body and called 911. However, first responders said she died at the scene.

According to a GoFundMe page set up by her family, Guerrero experienced a “malfunction of a machine.” Investigators said they are waiting for autopsy results to determine the exact time and cause of her death.

Cal/OSHA said it is investigating the death.

The Teamsters Local 312 said “is diligently working with CAL/OSHA and the Sheriff's Department to find out the true cause of this incident and to make sure our Teamsters members are all protected.”

And a spokesperson for UPS said in a statement that the company is mourning the passing of their team member.

“Our thoughts are with their family, friends and colleagues during this difficult time. We are cooperating fully with the authorities to understand what happened and defer additional questions to them,” the company said.

Richmond Police said the incident appears to be an “industrial accident.”

"Officers were looking for video. I don't know if any was found, and they were going to interview witnesses,” Lieutenant Donald Patchin, a spokesman for the Richmond Police Department, said.

Guerrero said other UPS workers told them it may have been up to four hours before someone found Guerrero in the container.

On social media, people who identified themselves as workers in the area of the accident said that the extendable conveyer at trailer door 89 “has been malfunctioning for some time.” The “extendo” is an extended conveyor that is used to reach inside the trailer to retrieve or push in packages.

One of Guerrero’s co-workers said on Reddit that UPS appeared to not be concerned with what they called a “preventable death.”

“They shut us down for about 2 hours between both shifts and then started the building back up. Left her in the trailer with the door open,” the co-worker said.

The worker said the company covered the body bag Guerrero was in with sorting bags to hide her from the other employees.

“It was just business as usual. I’m so angry, upset and just freaking pissed off,” the worker wrote on Reddit. “The lack of respect, compassion and empathy they showed her in death just killed me. I know OSHA and the police had to investigate but it still seemed callous to me to have us in there working.”

Prior to Guerrero’s death, UPS has seen other workplace deaths. In May 2024, Juan Chavez, a subcontractor, fell into a garbage compactor at a Dallas facility and died. In February, employee Dallas Carroll, 46, was struck by a vehicle at UPS’s Worldport hub in Louisville, Ky.

Dangerous working conditions impact UPS drivers too. In California, driver Expedito Cuesta De Leon was shot and killed by a coworker while on duty. In April, driver Julie Reed was killed in a vehicle crash and fire in Indiana. And in Bell County, Texas, driver Luis Grimaldo collapsed and died on August 6 due to the heat. The next day, a delivery driver in McKinney, Texas lost consciousness from heat exhaustion sending his truck crashing into a tree.

According to OSHA records, between January 2015 and May 2022, UPS had 1,142 severe injuries - the highest number of reported severe injuries of any US employer. Records indicate that is twice the number of severe injuries recorded at Walmart.

In 2023, UPS workers were poised to strike over improved wages and meaningful safety reforms. Instead, the Teamsters Union and UPS reached an agreement many called historic. As part of the agreement, UPS promised safety and health protections, including vehicle air conditioning and cargo ventilation. UPS also promised to equip in-cab a/c in all larger delivery vehicles, sprinter vans, and package cars purchased after Jan. 1, 2024, and to retrofit cargo compartments with two fans, heat exhaust shields, and air induction vents.

As of July, the Teamsters are working with UPS to make sure the company is living up to its end of the labor agreement, and has alleged that UPS is dragging its feet on purchasing air-conditioned package cars.

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