The death of a loved one is never easy to come to terms with but the death of someone who died young is even harder to handle. A 24-year-old losing their life is a heartbreaking tragedy especially when the death was easily preventable.
Esteban Chavez was a young 24-year-old employee of UPS. He had been working for the parcel delivery service for the last four years and dreamt of moving up the ladder at the company.
He hoped to work in management for the company one day. The young man had just turned 24 years old a day prior to his demise. He had been working his usual route in Pasadena, California when he collapsed in a driveway he was delivering a package on.
He did not recover and passed away. Esteban’s aunt, Gloria Chavez was there to talk about the heartbreaking incident for their family. “It’s a tragedy that you don’t want any of your kids to go through, as a parent as a tía, or as a family member,” she said.
She says the family believes that the cause of Esteban’s death was heatstroke. She said that delivery drivers have little to no ventilation in their trucks.
And with recent temperatures in Pasadena touching over 90 degrees, it might have been the cause.
The coroner’s office has still not released a report that specifies the cause of death but the family already suspects heatstroke being the reason the otherwise healthy 24-year-old lost his life.
Talking about the people Esteban delivered packages to, “All his route had nothing but good things to say about Steven Chavez,” his aunt, Gloria Chavez said. “Yeah, our Esteban, we’re gonna miss him so much.”
UPS also issued a statement about the passing of their young employee to local media saying, “We are deeply saddened by the loss of our driver Esteban Chavez and extend our deepest condolences to his family and friends. We are cooperating with the investigating authorities and are respectfully deferring questions about this incident to them.”
The family is understandably devastated. They have set up a GoFundMe to help them with funeral expenses for Esteban Chavez.
His aunt has also issued a warning for people who might be working in the rising temperatures. “I would say keep yourself cool as best that you can keep yourself prepared for the heat that’s coming,” she said. “Get a bucket of ice and fill it up with water. Saturate yourself with the water if you have to,” she finished.
Esteban Chavez’s death is incredibly heartbreaking. We extend our sympathies to his family and hope they find peace.
Please stay safe in rising temperatures and remember to take necessary precautions.
