UPS driver killed in Massachusetts

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saddayinmass

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shocking

WEB EXTRA: Bridgewater man killed at Brockton UPS office

By Maureen Boyle, Enterprise staff writer

BROCKTON — A UPS worker was run over and killed by a tractor trailer making a delivery Thursday night.

Peter Duhamel, 56, of Bridgewater was run over shortly after 8 p.m. Thursday at the UPS lot on Oak Hill Way and taken to Boston Medical Center with life-threatening injuries.

Police were notified today he had died, said police Lt. John Crowley, chief of detectives.

The U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration along with Brockton Officer Matthew Graham and the state police accident reconstruction team are investigating the death.

The accident occurred after the truck driver, Charles Levesque, 49, of Raynham, hit Duhamel while making a turn around a nearby trailer, police said.

Crowley said the driver told authorities he had entered the shipping yard after making a pickup in Abington and saw all the shipping bays were filled. He told police he stopped his tractor trailer, used his palm-held computer briefly and then put his tractor in gear to park near a fence.

Crowley said the driver proceeded to make a turn around a nearby trailer and felt a bump.

“He initially thought he hit the lip of the concrete,” Crowley said.

But the driver said he didn't remember there being a concrete lip there in the past, so he stopped and turned so he could see behind him. That is when he saw a man lying on the ground, Crowley said.

“He began yelling for help,” Crowley said.
 

diesel96

Well-Known Member
This is tragic,one more example of safety first.
I find issues with this article(if it's accurate)

A)Don,t break routine,palm pilot distractions take away the senseability of whats happening around vehicle when temporarily parked.

B)You find the bays full,at that point you turn the tractor OFF!(Excessive idiling is recorded on computer).In order to put it in gear you must then re-start tractor and proceed with caution.Also,many hubs require drivers to hand the keys over to security before they cut the seals on trailers.

C)Around blind corners,proceed slowly with utmost caution,tap horn,scan entire area for obstacles and pedestrians and of course follow up on your mirrors until turn is complete.

Doesn't look good for the driver"according to the article".
I bet he feels terrible.It's very sad.Especially for the victoms family.
 

raceanoncr

Well-Known Member
Could you post the web address for this story? TIA.


Athena, I'm too stupid to get it on here but this might speed things up for you til somebody can. Google "Brockton" and you'll see some South Boston news. It has the story there which is essentially the same as posted here.
 

MoparMan

Member
My thoughts and prayers to the family, too. All it takes is a second and a life is over. Anybody on here work in the building? -Rocky

I've have mostly been a lurker on this site, but think it's a very interesting place. I work in the Brockton building. It was a devastating event for all. Peter had been at U.P.S. since 1974. Nice fellow...kept mostly to himself. He left two adult children and a wife. He worked the twi/carwash shift. The driver who hit him is crushed with grief. No word yet on his fate with U.P.S. Interesting how it takes a tragedy like this for management to truly make safety #1.
http://enterprise.southofboston.com/articles/2007/05/18/news/news/news01.txt
 
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raceanoncr

Well-Known Member
I've have mostly been a lurker on this site, but think it's a very interesting place. I work in the Brockton building. It was a devastating event for all. Peter had been at U.P.S. since 1974. Nice fellow...kept mostly to himself. He left two adult children and a wife. He worked the twi/carwash shift. The driver who hit him is crushed with grief. No word yet on his fate with U.P.S. Interesting how it takes a tragedy like this for management to truly make safety #1.
http://enterprise.southofboston.com/articles/2007/05/18/news/news/news01.txt


Moparman, not to denegrate what happened but is this driver UPS? From the article, it sounds like he is not. Was he delivery driver with diff company? Article said he had hand-held computer. Well, we, feeder drivers, are not supposed to have anything like this in our hands when driving.

Again, I certainly do not want to take away the tragicness of this event but if he was not UPS, then it shows the importance of following UPS safety procedures. If he WAS UPS then I hope we can all learn from this.
 

krash

Go big orange
Race,
I was under the same impression. The article leaves a lot to ponder and it doesn't sound like a UPS feeder driver. If it was a UPSer he will surely be relieved till they finish there investigation.
Either way, it's a sad loss
 

Sammie

Well-Known Member
We lost a UPS employee in our yard and after such an event, no one is ever the same again. Our guy was crushed to death between the wall of a building and a yardbird, which he left in reverse without setting the brake properly to step out and check on something.

With all of the activities that go on in the yards during the busy times, so many terrible things can go wrong.

One of my UPS buddies e mailed me more info on the Massachusetts accident -

BROCKTON - A Bridgewater man run over by a tractor-trailer truck at the UPS
plant in Brockton Wednesday night died yesterday at Boston Medical Center.
Peter Duhamel, 56, had worked at UPS for 33 years, according to UPS
spokesman Neil Rossi.
Rossi, Brockton police and officers of the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration said yesterday that the details of the accident are still
under investigation.
Duhamel was run over by a tractor-trailer truck in the yard of the Oak
Hill Way UPS warehouse just after 8 p.m. Wednesday.
For many years, Duhamel worked as a delivery driver and was well-known on
the area, said his mother, Carol Duhamel of Brockton. After a back
operation, he took a job in the warehouse on Oak Hill Way in Brockton, she
said.
Besides his mother, Duhamel leaves a wife, Laura, of Bridgewater, and
three children; Arik, of Newton; Alison, of Jamaica Plain, and Adam and his
wife, Shelby, of Bridgewater. He is also survived by three brothers and a
sister, his mother said.
Duhamel was an Army veteran of the U.S. Army who served in Vietnam. He
was a member of the Teamsters, and traveled to mines in the Rocky Mountains
and Maine as an amateur geologist and gemologist.
He enjoyed the outdoors by fishing as a surf-caster, and made his own
fishing poles. He was also a member of the Beach Buggy Association.
His mother said yesterday Thursday that the victim's wife and two of his
children were out of state when the accident happened, and were due to
arrive home last night. Meanwhile, she has been comforted by friends.
"The caring and concern of friends make the hard parts of life easier,''
she said.
The accident is under investigation by Brockton Police, the state police
accident reconstruction team and the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration.
OSHA spokesman Ted Fitzgerald, spokesman for OSHA, said yesterday that
OSHA has opened an inspection of the plant on Oak Hill Way as a result of
the accident.
 

Channahon

Well-Known Member
I've have mostly been a lurker on this site, but think it's a very interesting place. I work in the Brockton building. It was a devastating event for all. Peter had been at U.P.S. since 1974. Nice fellow...kept mostly to himself. He left two adult children and a wife. He worked the twi/carwash shift. The driver who hit him is crushed with grief. No word yet on his fate with U.P.S. Interesting how it takes a tragedy like this for management to truly make safety #1.
http://enterprise.southofboston.com/articles/2007/05/18/news/news/news01.txt

Can one assume that the driver who hit him was a UPS driver?
 

scratch

Least Best Moderator
Staff member
It sounds like a Shifter or Feeder Driver ran over him, a tragedy no matter who did it. The OnCar Sup who trained me for Package Car was later killed when he was caught between a dock and someone backing a trailer to it.

My prayers to Peter Duhamel's family and also to the driver involved with this. Our jobs are dangerous and it just takes a split second for something horrible like this to happen.
 

Fullhouse

Well-Known Member
Sorry for the loss. In the South Carolina district employees on the yard are required to a yellow vest that has reflective material on it.
 
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