A postal worker in the US allegedly drove his van at a 10-year-old boy after wrongly assuming he’d stolen a parcel.
William White Jr. was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, petit theft and criminal mischief in connection with the incident days earlier, on December 27.
White, employee of the US Postal Service (USPS), reportedly dropped off a package at the wrong address in Escambia County, Florida.
The boy lives at the house it was delivered to and noticing the mistake picked up the parcel, placed it on his electric scooter and proceeded to take it to the correct address, according to WEAR Channel 3 News.
Police say White believed the youngster was stealing the parcel, so ‘purposely drove the USPS vehicle towards the child and ran over the scooter.’
Thankfully the boy managed to jump out of the way at the last second and ran into a nearby garden, but injured his ankle in the process.
White then picked up the scooter from underneath the van and put it inside the vehicle, shouting at the youngster as he drove away, authorities said.
But one of the child’s parents followed White to confront him about what he had done – at which point the suspect allegedly threw the scooter into a garden.
The boy was taken to hospital where his ankle was treated.
After the family reported the incident to police, officers managed to track White down on New Year’s Eve and arrest him.
He was booked into Escambia County Jail, but has since posted a $5,500 bond.
A neighbour of the family, Alexus Brown, told WEAR: ‘It’s heartbreaking. This is a very quiet neighborhood.’
Florida Highway Patrol Capt. Jason King, meanwhile said: ‘This isn’t just a simple “Oops” crash with a 10 year old in the road.
‘This is an intentional act by a United States postal worker.’
He said the situation could have been avoided with a ‘small conversation’ rather than jumping straight to force’.
‘It’s amazing what a small conversation would do in a situation rather than jumping straight to force, use of force… or really escalating the situation way past where it should have been.’
In a statement to the News Journal, a spokesperson for USPS said it ‘takes the safety and well-being of our customers and employees seriously.
‘The Postal Inspection Service, the law enforcement arm of the Postal Service, is actively investigating the issue in partnership with local law enforcement.’
The spokesperson then went on to confirm that White has been employed by the service since 2025, but said ‘the Postal Service does not publicly comment on personnel matters.’
White is now due back in court on January 23.
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