The Delivery Gone Awry (Image Credits: Unsplash)
Escambia County, Florida – A simple neighborhood errand turned terrifying when a United States Postal Service driver mistook a helpful child for a thief and accelerated toward him in a misguided effort to protect a delivery.
The Delivery Gone Awry
The incident unfolded on a quiet residential street in Pensacola, where 41-year-old William White Jr., a USPS carrier, arrived with a package intended for one household but left it at the wrong address. The error seemed minor at first, as the recipient’s young son noticed the mix-up and decided to rectify it himself. Carrying the parcel across the short distance to the correct neighbor’s home, the 10-year-old boy acted out of basic courtesy, unaware of the storm brewing behind him.
White, who had already driven away, circled back upon spotting the child with the package. In a flash of suspicion fueled by rising concerns over package thefts, or “porch pirates,” he wrongly assumed the boy was attempting to steal the item. Authorities later described the driver’s perception as a tragic misjudgment, one that escalated a harmless situation into potential tragedy.
A Dangerous Confrontation Unfolds
As the boy approached the rightful recipient’s doorstep, White maneuvered his postal truck directly toward him, accelerating with intent to intervene. The child, startled, dropped the package and fled, but not before the vehicle struck him, causing injuries that required medical attention. Witnesses in the neighborhood reported hearing the engine rev and seeing the boy scramble to safety just in time…