Clayton mail carrier goes the extra mile in this daring rescue
CLAYTON, CA (Apr. 26, 2024) — It was a regular day, just a regular day,” Jack Roy says of the time he averted disaster.
Roy was on his mail route in Clayton when he saw a UPS truck veering off toward someone’s front yard. The driver passed out and was foaming at the mouth at the wheel.
Roy slammed his mail truck to a halt and began to sprint. He jumped into the UPS truck and figured out how to put it in park. He then made sure the driver got medical attention, saving her life.
“So it’s still rolling. I jumped in, and her whole body had fallen over to the side,” Roy recalls, adding: “It hit the curve, and that’s when her body dumped over.”
He had to think quickly.
“I stirred the wheel so if I couldn’t stop it, it wouldn’t hit the house,” he says.
Thankfully, Roy was able to locate the emergency brake in a split second and stopped the UPS truck in its tracks.
Another good Samaritan came by and the two worked together.
“He helped me get her upright,” Roy says, “and then we called the paramedics, and that was it.” The woman driving the UPS truck survived the 2023 incident.
Racing background
Roy runs professional races, most notably the 7.4-mile Dipsea Race in Marin County.
“I’ve been doing it for 12 years. I was training, so I had a little speed – maybe not a lot of speed for an old man, but I credited that for helping me get there in time,” says Roy, a good-natured and jovial man who tells his stories with a laugh, even at his own expense.
Being a hero is not new to Roy. Years ago as a postal worker in Hayward, he came across a truck driver crushed under his truck. “I didn’t know what to do,” Roy shares, “so I saw a little old garage, and I ran toward it. And there was one of those floor jacks, which I’d never used before.”
At first, it didn’t move. “I turned the handle, and luckily it started working,” he recalls. Roy jacked up the truck and pulled the man out.
Roy believes it is only good luck that allowed him to save the day more than once. He also calls it “something everyone would do” if they had the chance.
He takes pride in his job and in being a member of the community. The Clayton resident loves to put mail directly in the hands of elderly couples to save them a trip to the mailbox and also knocks on the door to go the extra step and hand-deliver a package.
On the day of this interview, he was sorting his mail for the day with the other carriers. They were laughing loudly, sounding like a family at dinner.
“Probably the best part of the day is talking with these guys and joking with your coworkers,” he says.
Vince Martellacci
Vince Martellacci is a somewhat new resident of Clayton who loves to spend time in the town center and in Concord. He represents musicians across the Bay Area in the media when he’s not writing. Contact him at vince@4amindiepublicity.com.