Letter Carrier Again Saves Life on His Route
For the second time in 10 months, Sun Valley letter carrier Gerald Apusen has been credited with delivering life-saving help to someone on his route.
On Saturday, postal officials said, Apusen noticed that mail was piling up at Lillie Lathem’s home in western Sun Valley. Apusen sensed something was wrong, so he knocked on the woman’s door. She cried out and said she had fallen. She had been lying injured on the floor for four days.
Apusen called 911 and Lathem was hospitalized.
“I know my customers’ daily routines,” Apusen said. “If they’re not there to greet me for a couple of days, then I know I’d better check.”
Sun Valley Postmaster Jon Ehbach said the service will give the 10-year veteran an award for saving the woman’s life.
In July, the Assembly and Los Angeles City Councilman Alex Padilla honored Apusen for summoning paramedics when he realized it had been days since he had seen another older woman who usually chatted with him. She had also fallen in her home and was badly hurt.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
