An Atlanta woman wants to know what happened to her fiancé after he died at work.
Demarcus Little Sr., 45, died at the Palmetto Regional Processing and Distribution Center in suburban Atlanta on June 3. He is the fourth worker to die at the facility since it opened a little over two years ago.
According to his fiancée, Laura Wheaton, Little had called her on his break to tell her he wasn’t feeling good.
“He asked the supervisor can he go home, he feel sick, supervisor says no,” Wheaton wrote on Facebook.
‘Can’t Trust Anyone These Days’: Atlanta Mom Buying a Puppy and Navy Vet Selling a Watch End Up Ambushed Days Apart During Facebook Meetups
Wheaton said Little was later found on the floor, foaming at the mouth. She said his co-workers started calling her the next day to tell her more about what happened.
“They are telling so much weird things that happened,” Wheaton wrote. “Even said the job left him on the floor for an hour with no CPR because the job’s policy is ‘NEVER TOUCH A BODY.’ They say if they talk they will be fired.”
911 calls obtained by WXIA revealed multiple coworkers tried to call first responders to the facility.
“We have a young man who has fallen out. He appears to be having a stroke,” one caller told dispatchers.
In another call, a coworker pointed out that it was taking a while for EMS to arrive.
“We’ve called several times, and nobody has made it here. This man has been down for like 10 minutes,” the caller said.
WXIA reported the initial 911 call was received at 11:06 p.m., but first responders did not arrive until 11:25 p.m.
The cause of Little’s death has not been released.
Russell Scruggs Jr., another USPS employee, died at the facility in November 2025. Coworkers told the WSWS that supervisors stood around him without administering CPR.
Employees also reported that there was no defibrillator available and that it took over an hour for an ambulance to arrive after they went to the wrong entrance.
Before that, Eric Smith, 59, died in June 2025 from a medical emergency. And in August 2024, Sharon Barnes, 48, also died at the facility.
Barnes and Scruggs’ causes of death have not been released.
Atlanta Black Star combed through the United States Postal Service’s policies and procedures for “serious workplace accidents.”
USPS only offers instructions for how to report serious injuries, not what to do when one occurs. It’s unclear if that is up to the individual facility to address.
USPS sent a statement to Atlanta Black Star in the wake of Little’s death.
“Our thoughts are with their family, friends, and colleagues during this difficult time,” the statement said. “We will be providing counseling services to employees at the Palmetto Regional Distribution Center.”
The facility has also been heavily criticized by Georgia lawmakers for significant mail delays in metro Atlanta.
Atlanta Black Star reached out to USPS and Wheaton for more information, but has not heard back.
