Video removed - FedEx drives over neighbor's dog, no brakes, doesn't stop

erkme73

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This just happened a few hours ago. I am an animal lover, and it breaks my heart to post this. But, we need some opinions on how to proceed.

We live on in a VERY rural area where the only vehicles on our road are UPS/FedEx/USPS or the two families that live on our mile long street.

My neighbor's dogs are often roaming the hundreds of acres of woods along our road and none of us mind. They're not aggressive, but they do like to chase vehicles (4-wheelers, mailman, etc).

In this case, two of his dogs gave pursuit - with one running in front of the van. The van didn't slow, or try to go around the dog. Instead, it kept moving (maybe even accelerating) until finally the Shepard-mix got under the front passenger wheel. The van rocked like it drove over a log.

The dog sat on the side of the road, eventually belly crawling to the other side just as another neighbor came to visit. He saw the dog, and called the posse. We rushed it to the closest animal hospital (over an hour away). The dog was in terrible shape, bleeding badly, and tongue/gums nearly white. We didn't think it would make it to the vet. It did, and after the initial x-rays, it has a shattered pelvis, broken spine (at the base of the tail - so it will be incontinent), possible ruptured bladder. Probably $5k.

We have not contacted FedEx yet. I did speak with my mail carrier who said if it was in the road, carriers will not be liable.

I suspect if we reach out to FedEx and provide them with a copy of the video, and an opportunity to pay for the vet bills, they may choose that route vs. releasing a copy to the local media with the headline that FedEx callously drives off after seemingly intentionally running over a family pet.

VIDEO REMOVED FOR NOW
 
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alastairstevenson

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But, we need some opinions on how to proceed.
Oh dear, that's an awful incident, horrible to see.

My thoughts would be :
Reach out to FedEx and say that one of their vans ran over and seriously injured a dog.
See how they respond.
If they respond in a negative way, such as - "none of our drivers reported this, it must have been someone else."
Then you advise them that there is clear video evidence showing it was more than just an accident, but there were deliberate actions that clearly put the dog at risk. Which there were. The driver did not care - presumably thought there was no-one to see.
 

bp2008

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Yikes. I really wonder if it was intentional. Not even a tap on the brakes afterward. That tells me this bump may not have been a surprise to the driver.
 

erkme73

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Just received word from the vet that the dog has died. Owner is inconsolable. What is unforgivable is that the driver didn't render aid, or at least report it. The dog sat on the side of the road for nearly an hour before anyone knew what happened. That golden hour might have made the difference.
 

IAmATeaf

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Yikes. I really wonder if it was intentional. Not even a tap on the brakes afterward. That tells me this bump may not have been a surprise to the driver.
^ This. I thought I’d see the brake lights come on but nothing. He/she also never appeared to vary the speed much either. Playing devils advocate I wonder if he/she was on the mobile?
 
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^ This. I thought I’d see the brake lights come on but nothing. He/she also never appeared to vary the speed much either. Playing devils advocate I wonder if he/she was on the mobile?
Keep in mind that he/she was driving along a gravel road, which is noisy. I wonder if the driver even saw or heard the dog in front, or thought that he/she had simply hit a pothole. The driver's attention might have been focused on the dog running behind the van, which was much more visible.

FedEx may offer some compensation if contacted, but I think the neighbor will have a hard time proving the driver did it deliberately. Legally, there may be no fault on FedEx's part. Unfortunately, dogs that aggressively chase cars and trucks often meet bad ends, and I say this as someone who grew up in a neighborhood where all the dogs ran loose. One of my family's dogs (which loved to chase cars) met a similar end. It's extremely dangerous behavior for a dog to engage in.
 

erkme73

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@wtimothyholman - you make very good points. I completely agree that most of the blame is with the dog's behavior. That said, just prior to this happening, the sub-driver told the neighbor that she hates dogs. She has an irrational fear and won't get out of her van if any dogs are outside. My other cameras captured her driving from his driveway to the point of impact. Initially, while still in view of his driveway, she drove slow and appeared to be well aware that the dogs were pursuing her. As soon as she made the turn, she sped up with the one Shepard very visibly in front of her. The roads are gravel, but they are smooth - no lumps or holes. Her van rocked like it drove over a log. She knew. Absolutely no way she didn't.

In any case, neighbor has asked that I reach out to FedEx on his behalf. Just crafting an email to them now. He got an email address from some supervisor that asked for a copy of the video.
 
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In any case, neighbor has asked that I reach out to FedEx on his behalf. Just crafting an email to them now. He got an email address from some supervisor that asked for a copy of the video.
Hopefully FedEx will at least offer to pay the vet bills. However, I would advise your neighbor to think twice about releasing the video to the local media, because it might backfire. Many animal lovers will be just as quick to blame him as well, for letting his dogs run loose and chase cars. He might find himself on the receiving end of a lot of angry comments, threats, and emails. People can sometimes be very irrational where animal welfare is concerned.
 

J Sigmo

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The dog may not have survived regardless of how quickly aid was rendered after those injuries. But at the least, his suffering could have been lessened by anesthesia during the time he had left.

There's no way to know if the driver intentionally ran the dog over, because often, dogs will chase a car, and merely run alongside it, then fall away as the car outpaces them. And that may have happened many times before, safely.

With the shape of the van, and the driver's position and viewpoint, he may have actually felt that accelerating may be the safest action because he could outrun the dogs and therefore prevent them from getting in front of the van.

However, I can't imagine the driver failed to notice the bump, and therefore realize that one of the dogs had been run over. But again, you never know for sure.

If the driver did know they hit one of the dogs, and failed to stop, that would be unconscionable in my mind.

From a legal viewpoint, however, I doubt there was any crime or even any civil liability here. I'm no lawyer, but because the dogs were on the road, they seem to actually be at fault (actually, their owners were).

This will sound cold hearted, but an example that comes to my mind is an incident my brother was involved in with a child many years ago.

He was driving on a city street which has four traffic lanes. Two in each direction.

He was traveling in an outside lane when he saw a kid run out into the street from the farthest side. He immediately began braking, and the kid managed to dodge cars as he crossed three of the lanes before finally being struck by my brother's car, which was, by then, almost stopped, and had skidded/steered off the street as far as possible in his attempt to avoid the boy.

The kid was not injured, but he was knocked down. Of course my brother got out and rendered aid and tried to keep the kid still until police/ambulance could arrive. But the kid was more worried about his box of Tic Tacs, and gathering up those that had spilled.

Anyhow, when the police came, they told my brother that because the child had run out into traffic, and not in a crosswalk, the event was the child's fault, and any damage to my brother's car was the responsibility of the parents of the child. They would have to pay for any damage his car had incurred.

So my point is that neither FedEx nor their driver likely have any civil or criminal liability here.

But still, common decency would dictate that you'd do whatever was necessary to keep these pups safe, and if you did accidentally hit one, obviously you'd stop to help.

That's really horrifying to see.
 
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So to me, the one thing I know for sure was cruel and unconscionable, was failing to stop and render whatever aid could have been offered.
As @erkme73 previously mentioned, the driver was afraid of dogs (understandable - as a delivery driver, she might very well have been attacked in the past), so stopping the van with another dog in hot pursuit would have been the last thing on her mind. She might have thought that she would be attacked if she left the van.
 

bp2008

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She might have thought that she would be attacked if she left the van.
Not only that, but delivery drivers often work very long days already and it could be a heck of a delay to stop and care for someone's pet. Especially once the owner gets involved and is out for blood. That is a lot of stress that is not necessarily deserved.
 

IAmATeaf

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If the driver had an irrational fear of dogs then I can sort of understand her trying to get away but regardless she could have stopped, stayed in the van and called for help?
 

erkme73

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I agree with all comments so far. It really is hard to side with anyone in this. The neighbor clearly should have better control of his dogs. But, in his defense, that is why we live where we do - so the dogs can roam free. Still, a dog with a Darwin complex of chasing car tires is not going to end well.

Likewise, if the lady driving has a fear of dogs (I had talked to her about it just a couple weeks ago since she refused to get out of the van when my dogs were in my yard), she could legitimately have feared getting out because of the other dog(s) that could have attacked. But, just basic human compassion and decency would have someone still call dispatch or a supervisor to tell them "I hit a dog that belongs to the last house I delivered to, call homeowner..." Or maybe double back.

As for long days and hectic routes, I probably spend 5-10 minutes with the UPS/FedEx guy when we cross paths. This is so contrary to the city life, where they are literally running from doorstep to truck. There is very little observable pressure to go fast up here.

In the end, there is plenty of blame. I don't necessarily fault her for hitting the dog. When I follow her departure from his house, she was going slow trying to avoid them. She likely felt if she sped up, they'd get out of the way. But, WHEN she did hit it, the failure to render aid or report it is, quite frankly, sub-human.

Now that the dog has died, the expenses for treatment are a fixed, known amount. That should make the process a bit simpler.

As for the video going viral or hitting the media, any backlash, I think, would be muted compared to the negative PR pressure on FedEx. How many people have NOT seen the FedEx guy tossing a flatscreen TV over the fence?

----

Update: I just got off the phone with the manager at the local FedEx hub. He watched the video with me on the phone and got choked up. He implied that this would be taken care of promptly and completely. In attempt to keep the video from going viral, I've deleted the original video from YT. In fairness to FedEx, if they make the neighbor whole, and compensate him for the vet bills, it would be unethical for me to spread the video.

Sorry to all those that came late and still want to see it. @fenderman, if you want you can move this thread away from captures since it no longer includes a capture.

Of course, if FedEx doesn't come through, then I'll put it back up.
 
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J Sigmo

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Everyone has made good points. Obviously, we don't like seeing that happen, and wish it hadn't. but we also can't judge the driver because we really don't know the full story.

Dogs and cats really love to roam and enjoy being out. But they are a lot safer, and cause less problems for themselves and others when they're kept in or well supervised.
 

J Sigmo

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Some events are simply tragedies. Often for everyone involved.
 

vandyman

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Here in South Jersey it is against the law if you hit a domestic animal and not stop to report it.

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WHich Fedex was it?

Here in SoCal there are 3. Express, Ground and Home. Express are actually Fedex employees and union members. Ground and Home are employees of the contractors who have route contracts.
Typically not union members. Easier to fire.
 

erkme73

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WHich Fedex was it?

Here in SoCal there are 3. Express, Ground and Home. Express are actually Fedex employees and union members. Ground and Home are employees of the contractors who have route contracts.
Typically not union members. Easier to fire.
Ground. It's a difficult route, with houses very far apart. There a lot of local roads washed out in the area so what normally takes a 100 miles is now 200. They're having a hard time keeping regular drivers, and I think that's part of the problem. The girl that hit the dog today is a sub because the regular driver can't do the route all the time.
 
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