Postal Worker Blames Rule Change For Truckers' Death in Urbandale

James Aten worries that he could have done more to prevent Carl Magee's death last week.

Magee, 46, of Pekin, IL, was docking his truck at the Urbandale postal distribution center when his truck's gears slipped and the truck started rolling. Magee fell when he tried to stop the truck and was run over. 

Aten, whose job is to direct the truck drivers to their spots at the distribution center, told myabc5.com that Magee should not have have died.

Aten was rushed to the hospital with chest pains after the incident. From his hospital bed on Monday, he told reporter Katie Eastman he's been "consumed by this thing."

He said wonders if he should have done more to protest a 2009 national postal procedure change that required contracted truck drivers to dock their trucks themselves instead of having postal workers do it.

"I should have done more sooner," he told Eastman. "Maybe this guy would still be alive."

Aten said emails had been circulating about the procedure change because in Urbandale the docking area is sloped, so if the driver doesn't set the breaks, the truck rolls.

A representative from the post office told ABC5 that the postal service and OSHA are investigating Magee's death, but said the procedure is safe.