An Amazon delivery driver found unresponsive inside her van on a Lake County street in August has died of carbon monoxide toxicity, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office. Deputies say the death of Jaylene Vargas Gonzalez has been ruled accidental.
Vargas Gonzalez was discovered inside the vehicle after a 911 caller reported that an Amazon delivery van had been sitting stationary near their home for an extended period, according to WESH. The caller told dispatchers, “An Amazon delivery van has been outside my house for four hours,” and asked for either a wellness check or a report on an abandoned vehicle. Deputies responded to the area of Clark Road at 7:22 p.m. on Aug. 10 after the call came in as a report of a suspicious incident, and found Gonzalez unresponsive inside the vehicle, per the sheriff's office.
Nearby resident Patrick Miranda told WESH that once deputies reached her, officers became concerned about fumes inside the van and moved Vargas Gonzalez farther away from the vehicle. Fire personnel used a hose to rinse her off at the scene before Lake County Fire Rescue and EMS transported her to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Neighbor Describes Officer Coughing After Entering Van
Patrick Miranda, who lives near the scene, told the station the officer who pulled Vargas Gonzalez from the van began coughing immediately afterward. Separately, ClickOrlando.com reported that firefighters who responded to the scene wore gas masks because of concerns about potentially toxic substances, underscoring how serious the danger inside the vehicle appeared to first responders.
Amazon said in a statement that the company was deeply saddened by Vargas Gonzalez's death and that its thoughts and prayers were with her loved ones. A company spokesperson said Amazon is cooperating fully with local authorities in their investigation. The station noted it had reached out to Amazon again for comment following the sheriff's office's ruling.
What Produced The Carbon Monoxide Remains Unclear
What caused the buildup of carbon monoxide inside the van, and how it reached a lethal level, has not been established in the information released so far. The sheriff's office has attributed the cause of death and the accidental ruling, but no additional detail about the gas's source has been made public.
Carbon monoxide poisoning tied to vehicles is not unique to this case. In Washington state, a truck driver died in January 2023 after carbon monoxide poisoning during a long rest break, with investigators believing a single-burner butane cooking stove found in the truck was most likely the source, according to Overdrive. The trade publication also reported on an earlier case in which a carbon monoxide detector possibly saved the life of trucker Scott Carlson after an exhaust leak from his truck's diesel-powered auxiliary power unit.
Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says hundreds of people in the United States die every year from accidental, non-fire-related exposure to carbon monoxide, according to the CDC.
For now, the Lake County Sheriff's Office has confirmed the cause and manner of Vargas Gonzalez's death, while the broader circumstances that led carbon monoxide to accumulate inside her delivery van remain unaddressed publicly.
