Amazon delivery driver dies of carbon monoxide poisoning inside van after texting of bad smell ‘making me dizzy’

An Amazon delivery driver died from carbon monoxide poisoning inside her delivery van shortly after sending a text message that the vehicle’s smell was making her ‘dizzy.’

Mother-of-two Jaylene Vargas Gonzalez, 31, was found unresponsive inside the Amazon delivery vehicle around 7.22pm on August 10 in Fruitland Park, Florida, by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

A newly released investigative report from the sheriff’s office shared details about the moments leading up to Vargas Gonzalez’s death, including a text message she sent to a loved one roughly 15 minutes before collapsing.

‘This van is giving off a bad smell in the air that’s making me dizzy,’ she wrote, WKMG reported.

Surveillance footage showed that Vargas Gonzalez was sorting packages inside the van when she died.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office revealed last Friday that Vargas Gonzalez died due to carbon monoxide poisoning. The medical examiner ruled her death accidental.

Her autopsy found that her blood carboxyhemoglobin saturation, which refers to a measure of carbon monoxide in the bloodstream, was 58 percent when she died.

Elevated carbon monoxide levels inside the van’s compartment were discovered when the interior of the vehicle was tested with its engine running, per the report.

The autopsy did not discover any evidence of traumatic injuries or natural disease.

Vargas-Gonzalez said that the delivery van had become stuck in sand along the side of the road about six hours before her tragic death, according to Amazon logistics data cited in the reported findings.

However, she later reported that the van was operational again and continued her route.

Sheriff’s office deputies were called to the Clark Road area of Fruitland Park after a resident, Patrick Miranda, noticed that the vehicle was running but seemed empty.

‘I see the phone is still plugged in,’ Miranda told the outlet. ‘The backpack is there and again the car is running, but there is no one. It seemed kind of strange.’

Miranda said an officer opened the passenger-side door and ‘had to reel back from’ the fumes.

He then opened the back doors and discovered Vargas Gonzalez ‘lying there in the back unconscious.’

‘Because they were worried about toxic chemicals, I remember they did use a fire hose to rinse her off to make sure there was nothing on her clothes or person,’ Miranda said. ‘But immediately after that, they were using life-saving measures.’

A deputy that responded to the scene described an ‘unknown odor that disrupted my breathing.’

Vargas Gonzalez was taken to Leesburg Regional Hospital and declared dead, per an investigative report cited by PEOPLE.

The investigation into Vargas Gonzalez’s death also revealed a dent in the van’s exhaust pipe.

Investigators restarted the van’s engine and tested the carbon monoxide levels every 10 minutes, which increased with each try, according to the outlet.

Milette Webber, an attorney on behalf of the Vargas Gonzalez family, said the autopsy report ‘answers the question about the cause of … death, but serious questions remain about how this could have happened.’

‘Ms. Vargas Gonzalez’s family is devastated and desperate for those answers,’ Webber added. ‘As they grieve, we are fighting tirelessly to uncover what happened and hold the responsible parties accountable for any negligence that could have contributed to her death.’

Amazon previously said that it was ‘deeply saddened by this tragic incident,’ while extending ‘thoughts and prayers’ to ‘the driver’s loved ones during this difficult time.’

‘We’re cooperating fully with local authorities in their investigation,’ Amazon told WESH 2 News in August.

The Daily Mail has reached out to Amazon, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Webber for further comment.