DENVER — Footage from a Ring Bell camera shows a runaway UPS truck careening backward down a street in a Denver neighborhood, and smashing into several parked vehicles.
Erika Gaum said she was in her front yard with her young son cleaning out flowerbeds a few minutes before the crash happened on Dec. 2.
"I had just gone in to put him down for his nap," she said. "About 10 minutes later, I heard this massive explosion."
Gaum said she peeked out the front door and saw a UPS truck pushed up against the neighbor's cars.
Moments later, another neighbor came out and told her the UPS truck had sideswiped the Gaum's tow truck and trailer, too.
"After it hit the trailer, it kind of skidded along and then hit the fender and ripped the tire and bent the rim," she said.
Gaum added that the impact knocked out rivets, busted a mirror, flattened two tires and knocked out a headlight.
The UPS truck then slammed into three parked cars, one of them a Ford Taurus.
Gabriela Agustin-Sanchez said her dad had put a lot of hard work and hard-earned cash into fixing up the Taurus.
"Cars are his passion. He's always working on cars, but that one was one of his most prized possessions, and he was very proud of it," she said.
The back of that Taurus is now a crumpled heap of metal, rubber and plastic.
According to the police report, the UPS driver, 21-year old Sagar Garung, said he was stopped to make a delivery and when he jumped back in and attempted to start the truck, it failed to start.
"Then it jumped out of gear and traveled southbound in reverse, at an unknown rate of speed, and collided with (Gaum's truck and the three cars,)" the report stated.
Gaum said she and her husband own an auto shop.
"We're heading into the holidays and this is our work truck, so we kind of need some action," she said.
Gaum added that she reached out to UPS several days in a row, to ask about the status of their damage claim, and each time was told "somebody will contact you by the end of the day."
"That has yet to happen," she said.
KMGH reached out to UPS to ask if there was an issue with the brakes, if the driver is still working for UPS, if there was another person on board the UPS truck, why the delay in reaching out to the victims and if UPS will be taking care of the damage.
Matthew O'Connor, the senior manager of media relations, sent an email stating: "We’re thankful that everyone is safe. UPS’s highest priority is the safety of our employees and the communities we serve. We’re investigating the situation, cooperating with the responding authorities on their investigation, and will respond accordingly."
Garung was issued a citation for operating an unsafe vehicle.
Gaum said with everything that has happened in 2020, she's grateful no one was injured in the crash.
Still, she hopes UPS responds sooner, rather than later.
"Call me UPS. Give me a call," she said.
This story originally reported by Lance Hernandez on TheDenverChannel.com.
