Coroner: LA mail carrier died of overheating on…

The coroner’s office says a Los Angeles mail carrier found dead inside her postal truck amid scorching temperatures died primarily from overheating.

Temperatures reached 117F during the week in July that Peggy Frank died in the Woodland Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles.

The Orange County Register reports that the 63-year-old died of hyperthermia, or abnormally high body temperature. 

Peggy Frank, 63, died on July 6 of hyperthermia caused by a failure of the body to deal with the heat. It was 117F outside and the truck she was driving around in had no air conditioning

Investigators say she had pre-existing health conditions including obesity and heart disease which may also have impacted her ability to regulate her body temperature.

Frank was found unresponsive while seated in her postal truck by a coworker.

Emergency personnel attempted to revive her without success.

‘I’m sorry that happened,’ Frank’s sister, Lynn Calkins, who lived with her said on Monday upon hearing the cause of death. ‘I would never want anything to have happened to Peggy. I loved her.’

The USPS truck that Frank was driving had no air conditioning despite scorching heat

The USPS truck that Frank was driving had no air conditioning despite scorching heat

Frank also had obesity and heart disease which impacted her ability to regulate her body temperature

Frank also had obesity and heart disease which impacted her ability to regulate her body temperature

Frank died on her first day back to work after taking medical leave for about three months because of a broken ankle when she slipped on some leaves. 

Frank had worked for the United States Postal Service for 28 years.

The USPS said in July that its employees undergo required training about working during extreme weather.

‘Our thoughts and prayers are and have been with Ms. Frank’s family,’ U.S. Postal Service spokeswoman Evelina B. Ramirez said in a written statement on Monday.

The Postal Service, which found out about the coroner’s report on Monday, does not comment on employee personnel matters, she added.

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the death.

Frank’s sister told the Orange County Register that changes need to happen at the Postal Service, including making sure all of the mail trucks have air conditioning.

‘I don’t want anyone to go through what we did,’ Calkins said. ‘It’s sad that they put people through that.’

Frank's sister, Lynn Calkins, pictured, said that changes need to happen at the Postal Service, including making sure all of the mail trucks have air conditioning

Frank’s sister, Lynn Calkins, pictured, said that changes need to happen at the Postal Service, including making sure all of the mail trucks have air conditioning

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk