Napa, CA, Letter Carrier Eloy “EJ” Aguarin suspected something was wrong earlier this year when he noticed mail piling up inside a customer’s box.
Aguarin knocked on the man’s door and called his name but didn’t receive a response. He contacted a co-worker, Bulk Mail Clerk Beverly Lopez, who lives nearby and sent her son to check on the neighbor.
When Lopez’s son was unable to reach the man, he called 911. Emergency responders discovered the man had fallen inside his home several days earlier and was unable to get up. The man was taken to a hospital, where he recovered.
Aguarin didn’t mention his actions to anyone. Lopez told Postmaster Juliana Davison, who later honored Aguarin during a brief ceremony at the Post Office.
“It is clear that his intimate knowledge of his route, the neighborhood and the customers he serves made him aware that there was a customer in dire need,” Davison said.
Aguarin appreciated the recognition, but he said helping others comes with the territory.
“I am just doing my job. We do more than deliver the mail out here,” he said.