A United Parcel Service (UPS) warehouse worker was crushed to death by a reversing tractor trailer on the job in Horsham, Pennsylvania, on July 24. As of writing, the name of the worker has not yet been released by authorities.
The incident took place inside the Horsham Township UPS distribution hub at 700 Blair Mill Road just after 12:30pm.
According to witnesses cited by local monopoly media, the worker was hit by a tractor trailer as it was backing up to a loading dock, trapping the worker’s head between the trailer and the dock.
First responders were unable to reach the warehouseman to perform CPR since the worker was trapped and suffering from “severe head injuries,” according to the emergency personnel. The worker was pronounced dead at the scene.
Social media users claiming to work at the facility offer conflicting accounts of the events leading to the worker’s killing: one says the worker attempted to jump into the back of a tractor trailer while it was still backing, while another said the worker either leapt or fell out the trailer as it pulled forward to straighten out, with the trailer then backing anew and pinning the worker.
A former UPS warehouseman told The Worker that work tempo inside UPS warehouses is breakneck, and that safety protocols around clearing jams on conveyor belts, building load walls inside trailers, and other tasks are eschewed daily under management’s push for faster work speeds.
Horsham is located in the suburbs of Philadelphia, which is one of the major logistics hubs of the Northeast, being strategically located on the Delaware River and Interstate 95. Its Port announced a record shipping volume in 2025.
UPS itself reported 2026 revenues of $21.2 billion in the first quarter and $22.8 billion in the second quarter. At the same time, workers across UPS have been facing mass layoffs, increasing tempo, and sell-out labor contracts with no protections from layoffs or automation.
UPS has stated that it plans to lay off over 34,000 people starting 2023 and close 164 facilities while increasing automation at many of the warehouses that remain.
On May 5, UPS warehouseman Julio Valverde was killed in a fall from a ladder at a UPS facility in East Hempstead, PA, near Horsham.
Image: A UPS semi-tractor in Arlington, TX, 2020. Credit: U.S. Department of Agriculture.
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