A UPS employee who was killed Sunday afternoon by “falling packages” while loading a trailer at the company’s Richmond facility has been identified by the family as Shelma Reyna, a mother of five.
A coworker found Reyna unresponsive inside of the trailer and called for help, according to Richmond police. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The family has said that Reyna died due to a “malfunction of a machine” inside of the trailer, according to the GoFundMe. So far as of Tuesday evening, the campaign has received $2,276 of its $20,000 goal to help her children and for her funeral expenses.
“She was such an amazing person and had such a beautiful soul. She helped everyone around her that needed help,” Reyna’s niece Esmeralda Ocampo said in the GoFundMe. “She was always such a positive person and made our days even better. But sadly she also left 5 beautiful children behind.”
According to the City of Richmond’s website, UPS is the fourth-largest employer in the city with 1,332 employees at the facility, 1401 Atlas Road.
The Contra Costa County Coroner’s Office was contacted by Richmondside for more information but did not respond by publication time.
According to a police press release, the incident is being investigated as an “industrial accident.” It says a preliminary investigation indicates that packages fell on top of Reyna, causing their death.
A UPS spokesperson said the company was “deeply saddened by the passing of one of our team members.”
“Our thoughts are with their family, friends and colleagues during this difficult time,” the statement reads. “We are cooperating fully with the authorities to understand what happened and defer additional questions to them.”
In a Facebook post on Tuesday night, Teamsters Local 315 which represents package handlers and drivers at the facility, said that CAL-OSHA, the California Department of Industrial Relations, is actively investigating how the incident occurred.
“Teamsters Local 315 is diligently working with CAL-OSHA and the (Contra Costa County) Sheriffs’ Department to find out the true cause of this incident and to make sure our Teamsters members are all protected,” said Alberto Ruiz, president of Local 315. “Our condolences go out to her family.”
