An Amazon delivery driver died of carbon monoxide poisoning inside her delivery van shortly after texting a loved one that a “bad smell” in the vehicle was making her feel dizzy.
Jaylene Vargas Gonzalez, a 31-year-old mother of two, was found unresponsive in the Amazon van at about 7:22 p.m. on August 10 in Fruitland Park, Florida, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
A newly released investigative report details the events before Vargas Gonzalez’s death, including a message she sent roughly 15 minutes before she collapsed.
“This van is giving off a bad smell in the air that’s making me dizzy,” she wrote, WKMG reported.
Surveillance video showed Vargas Gonzalez sorting packages inside the van when she became unresponsive.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said last Friday that she died from carbon monoxide poisoning. The medical examiner classified the death as accidental.
An autopsy found that Vargas Gonzalez’s blood carboxyhemoglobin saturation—a measurement of carbon monoxide in the bloodstream—was 58 percent at the time of her death.
According to the report, elevated carbon monoxide levels were detected inside the van’s cargo compartment when the vehicle was tested with its engine running.
Jaylene Vargas Gonzalez, 31, died inside an Amazon delivery van on August 10, about 15 minutes after texting that the vehicle had a “bad smell in the air” that was making her dizzy
The blood carboxyhemoglobin saturation of mother-of-two Vargas Gonzalez, a measure of carbon monoxide in the bloodstream, was 58 percent when she died
Vargas Gonzalez was sorting packages inside the van in Fruitland Park, Florida, when she died
The autopsy found no signs of traumatic injury or natural disease.
Amazon logistics data cited in the investigative findings indicated that the delivery van became stuck in sand at the side of the road about six hours before Vargas Gonzalez died.
She later reported that the vehicle was operating again and continued along her delivery route.
Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies were called to the Clark Road area of Fruitland Park after resident Patrick Miranda noticed that the van was running but appeared to be empty.
“I see the phone is still plugged in,” Miranda told the outlet. “The backpack is there and again the car is running, but there is no one. It seemed kind of strange.”
Miranda said an officer opened the passenger-side door and “had to reel back from” the fumes.
The officer then opened the rear doors and found Vargas Gonzalez “lying there in the back unconscious.”
“Because they were worried about toxic chemicals, I remember they did use a fire hose to rinse her off to make sure there was nothing on her clothes or person,” Miranda said. “But immediately after that, they were using life-saving measures.”
One deputy who responded to the scene described an “unknown odor that disrupted my breathing.”
Amazon logistics data indicated that Vargas Gonzalez reported the van had become stuck in sand at the side of the road about six hours before her death
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said last Friday that Vargas Gonzalez died from carbon monoxide poisoning (pictured: an Amazon Prime delivery van)
Vargas Gonzalez was taken to Leesburg Regional Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, according to an investigative report cited by PEOPLE.
Investigators also found a dent in the van’s exhaust pipe.
They restarted the engine and measured carbon monoxide levels at 10-minute intervals. The readings rose each time, according to the outlet.
Milette Webber, an attorney representing the Vargas Gonzalez family, said the autopsy report “answers the question about the cause of … death, but serious questions remain about how this could have happened.”
“Ms. Vargas Gonzalez’s family is devastated and desperate for those answers,” Webber added. “As they grieve, we are fighting tirelessly to uncover what happened and hold the responsible parties accountable for any negligence that could have contributed to her death.”
Amazon previously said it was “deeply saddened by this tragic incident” and extended its “thoughts and prayers” to the driver’s loved ones during the difficult time.
“We’re cooperating fully with local authorities in their investigation,” Amazon told WESH 2 News in August.
Our News Outlet has contacted Amazon, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Webber for additional comment.
