10 Run-of-the-Mill Deliveries That Turned Out to Be Anything But

We are certainly living in an age of convenience-driven deliveries. With the simple click of a button or the use of an app, everything from groceries, restaurant takeout, and business supplies or materials can be delivered directly to our home, office, or job site within days and, sometimes, in as little as a few hours. However, as we become more accustomed to such conveniences, these deliveries often shift from a moment of excitement and anticipation to one that instead becomes a mundane occurrence that gets lost in the hustle and bustle of our everyday routines.

Despite these commonplace occurrences, the stories below prove that no matter how unassuming a customer or delivery driver may be, each delivery has the potential to change the entire course of one’s day or, in some cases, their entire life. From tragic freak accidents, shocking surprises, unexpected twists and turns of fate, and repulsive discoveries, these incidents shed light on both the dark and unpredictable nature of modern-day deliveries.

Here are ten run-of-the-mill deliveries that turned out to be anything but ordinary.

Related: 10 Arguments Involving Candy That Ended in Tragedy

10 Materials Delivery Leads to Tragic Freak Accident Involving Tape Measure

At approximately 8:45 am on November 3, 2014, 58-year-old Gary Anderson was delivering a load of sheetrock to a Jersey City, New Jersey, construction site where two 50-story residential towers and an attached hotel were being built. Shortly after he arrived at the site, Anderson exited his truck and leaned inside a vehicle to speak to someone, but as he pulled his head out of the vehicle, a tragic freak accident occurred.

At that moment, a one-pound (0.45-kg) tape measure dislodged from the belt of a construction worker who was on the 50th floor. The tape measure then ricocheted off a piece of metal construction equipment about 10 to 15 feet (3 to 4.5 meters) from the ground and hit Anderson in the head. Sadly, Anderson was not wearing a safety helmet. He was transported to Jersey City Medical Center-Barnabas Health but was pronounced dead at 9:52 am.

One of the workers stated that Anderson seemed to be a very religious man and that he “had been telling a story and uttered the words ‘God is good’ the moment before he died.”^[1]

9 $5,000 Surprise in Domino’s Lunch Order

On September 20, 2016, Selena Avalos ordered chicken wings from a local Domino’s pizza in San Jose, California. When Avalos’s order was delivered, she opened the box, assuming the restaurant brought her breadsticks by mistake. However, rather than her lunch order of chicken wings or a mistaken order of breadsticks, the box she received was filled with wads of cash—nearly $5,000.

Avalos, who is a manager at Spacetel Wireless, knew right away that the money was probably the restaurant’s deposit. In hopes of getting in touch with a manager, Avalos immediately called the downtown Domino’s store where she had placed her order. But unfortunately, three days after the shocking discovery, Avalos had yet to receive a return call from anyone at Domino’s.

Therefore, Avalos reached out to her local TV station—ABC7 News—for help. Thankfully, after getting in touch with corporate, the news station was able to connect Avalos with the Domino’s franchise owner so she could return the money. As a reward for returning the money, Avalos was promised free Domino’s pizza for an entire year. Her employer also decided to give her a week off with pay as a reward for the good deed.^[2]

8 Fast Fashion Purchase Turns into Fecal Fiasco

Lifestyle editor Suzanne Baum of North London, England, had been a loyal customer of ASOS clothing. In fact, Baum stated, “I’ve bought from ASOS since it first existed, and I’ve always encouraged my kids to buy clothes on ASOS since they started earning their own money.” Never could Baum have imagined that something as simple as ordering a pair of shorts would lead to a stomach-churning discovery.

Baum’s 21-year-old son ordered a pair of ASOS Design summer shorts from the online retailer for $22.89 (£17.99). The parcel arrived on August 31, 2022, and the shorts were fully packed and sealed with the tags on, just as one would expect when ordering from an online retailer. Unfortunately, there was a “pungent poo smell” coming from the package.

While the mother and son were initially unsure as to the source of the foul smell, they later discovered that the back and side of the shorts were, in fact, covered in feces stains. Horrified by the discovery, Baum attempted to contact ASOS’ customer service. However, Baum was directed to an automated online chat and was unable to speak to anyone directly.

Therefore, in an attempt to reach out to customer service, Baum posted a photo of the shorts on her Instagram page. Eventually, she received an email from customer service stating, “We’re looking into this; this doesn’t meet our standards.” ASOS later offered Baum a refund of the item and a voucher as a “goodwill gesture.” The online retailer also confirmed that the issue was being investigated with the warehouse team and additional training would be put in place for staff.

Not wanting to keep the smelly shorts inside the house, Baum admitted the shorts were “wrapped up far at the back of my garden, just in case it’s queried.”^[3]

7 A Life-Saving Delivery—Literally!

Fifty-five-year-old Todd Holland—a U.S. Navy Veteran and 25-year UPS driver from Wilkesboro, North Carolina—delivers to approximately 80 homes per day in the rural neighborhood of Crumpler. He knows his customers well. In fact, one of Holland’s friendliest customers is an elderly man in his eighties, who always stands on his back porch and greets Holland with a smile and a “Hello.”

However, when Holland arrived on February 1, 2019, to deliver a package, he noticed the man was not there. Holland knocked on the door and called the customer’s name but ultimately assumed the elderly man wasn’t at home. When Holland returned on February 5, 2019, to deliver another package, the prior delivery was still sitting outside, and it was then that Holland knew something wasn’t right.

Holland “started beating on the door, hollering his name,” and then turned the door handle, which thankfully was unlocked. Upon entering the house, Holland found the elderly man lying incapacitated on the floor and proceeded to call 911. Holland stayed with the man and held his hand as they waited for the ambulance to arrive.

The man later told paramedics he had fallen and had lain on the floor for seven days before Holland found him. He was taken to the hospital, but the EMTs stated that the elderly gentleman’s “muscles were deteriorating, and he otherwise wouldn’t have made it through the night.”^[4]

6 Routine Delivery Leaves Amazon Driver Trapped in Septic Tank

In January of 2023, Amazon driver Charles Amicangelo was making a routine delivery to a home in Apple Valley, California. As Amicangelo approached the customer’s property, he noticed a hole in the ground. Although Amicangelo went around the hole and attempted to keep his distance, on the way back to his truck, the ground underneath him gave way. He fell 13 feet (3.9 meters) into a septic tank, trapping him underground in sludge and mud with no way to get out.

Unfortunately, efforts to get himself out only made the situation worse. Amicangelo then called his employer’s dispatch line so they could send help and also started recording a TikTok video on his phone to document the frightening experience. Amicangelo spent approximately 40 minutes underground before emergency responders arrived.

Thankfully, once the Apple Valley Fire Protection District arrived on the scene, they were able to put a ladder over the hole to stabilize the ground and then drop a ladder down to Amicangelo. From there, Amicangelo was able to free himself.

Despite the harrowing ordeal, Amicangelo—a former Marine—said he was taught to always accomplish his mission. So, once firefighters were able to rescue him, he went home, took a shower, and went right back to work.^[5]

5 Walmart Grocery Haul: Pineapple Juice and WHAT?

Twenty-eight-year-old Tesia Britt of Aurora, Colorado, “always appreciates precious time unpacking groceries with her 3-year-old daughter.” Unfortunately, in April 2022, as Britt and her daughter were unpacking items from a Walmart grocery delivery, she found an unwelcome surprise—a crack pipe in the bag next to a container of pineapple juice. Naturally, in disbelief of the grocery bag’s contents, Britt called for her husband, who confirmed the item was indeed a crack pipe and that she was “not crazy.”

A third-party delivery service had been used to deliver Britt’s groceries. While Walmart did not identify the third-party service, they did conduct a thorough investigation into the matter. They later stated, “Upon learning what happened, we immediately deactivated the third-party driver and encouraged any customer who encounters anything unsatisfactory to reach out to customer care.”

In light of the startling discovery, Britt stated she would continue to order her groceries but would carefully check every single bag moving forward.^[6]

4 Elderly Customer Receives Stolen Merchandise

Seventy-eight-year-old Don Thompson of Jefferson County, Colorado, makes purchases from Amazon regularly, sometimes ordering as many as four or five packages a day. While Thompson claims the e-commerce giant is usually pretty accurate, one particular order led to the “biggest shipping mistake he has ever encountered.”

On July 30, 2022, Thompson ordered a roll of fiberglass screen mesh to repair his damaged screen door. On August 3, 2022, the United States Postal Service delivered a package to Thompson’s doorstep, but instead of the screen mesh he ordered, the package contained a .20 gauge Stoeger shotgun. Thompson—who previously worked in law enforcement—was “totally dumbfounded” by the discovery, especially given that the delivery mix-up could have left the firearm in the hands of a felon or someone with evil intentions.

When CBS News Colorado began investigating the incident, they confirmed that the tracking number given to Thompson for the screen mesh order was indeed the same tracking number on the box containing the shotgun. The mailing label also indicated that the shotgun had been sent from an Amazon fulfillment center in Aurora, Illinois. Amazon, however, says it does not stock or sell firearms.

Amazon customer relations later sent an email to Thompson, which stated: “I’m terribly sorry to hear we’ve shipped you a firearm instead of the screen you purchased. This certainly isn’t what we want our customers to expect, and I can assure you the firearm was shipped unintentionally. We’re conducting an internal investigation of the errors leading to this shipping out from our Fulfillment Center to ensure this doesn’t happen to any other customers.” Amazon also stated they were investigating the incident and not only refunded Thompson the cost of the screen mesh but credited his account an additional $250.

Thompson contacted the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, which dispatched an officer to his home to retrieve the gun. A preliminary investigation also revealed that the shotgun had been reported stolen. Later in the investigation, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office advised CBS News Colorado that a series of mistakes had taken place with the shipment.

The firearm was supposed to have been shipped from the manufacturer in Maryland to a gun store, but instead, it was mistakenly sent to an Amazon sorting center. From there, the wrong shipping label was put on the shotgun, causing it to be shipped to Thompson’s residence.^[7]

3 Firewood Delivery Ends in Tragedy

Fifty-one-year-old Scott “Scotty” Jackson was described as a “generous, reliable, a doting grandfather, and the kind of dad who danced to make his daughter blush.” Jackson chopped and delivered firewood in Fort Worth, Texas, to earn extra money, but his life was tragically taken while trying to ensure homes would be warm before an impending winter storm.

On the evening of January 14, 2024, Jackson was out making last-minute deliveries. When Jackson arrived to deliver the wood to a repeat customer, the homeowner came outside to help him. Unfortunately, the simple delivery took a tragic turn. The homeowner, who asked to remain anonymous, stated that as he and Jackson were loading up the wheelbarrow, an “extremely naked man” showed up.

The homeowner stated the naked man—later identified as 27-year-old Chrisantus Omondi—then got “directly in my face and confronts me and accuses me of being on his property, being in his house, and he never wants to see us again.” Despite the two men’s pleas to allow them to finish unloading so they could get out of the cold, Omondi pushed the homeowner and then struck Jackson repeatedly with a piece of firewood before dumping a wheelbarrow on him.

Omondi then hit the homeowner in the arm with the firewood and chased him into his backyard. The homeowner was able to escape and get inside his house, where he called 911. As the homeowner tried to get help, he was forced to watch Omondi go back over to Jackson and beat him to death. Omondi fled to an Airbnb down the street, where he had rented a single room.

As Omondi returned to the Airbnb, he began yelling at one of the female tenants. When police arrived, Omondi was trying to force his way into her room. Police told Omondi to leave the house, but when he became aggressive and refused to follow their commands, they used a stun gun to detain him.

Witness accounts and video surveillance corroborated the homeowner’s story. The homeowner was taken to a local hospital for treatment, but Jackson died as a result of blunt-force injuries to his head and neck. Omondi was arrested and charged with murder, aggravated assault of a security officer, and obstruction or retaliation.^[8]

2 DoorDash Driver Saves Toddler From Freezing Conditions

Around 11:00 am on January 9, 2022, Robert Jackson III was making a DoorDash delivery. However, as he drove down 8 Mile Road in Detroit, Michigan, he came upon a terrifying sight—a two-year-old toddler in the middle of the street wearing nothing but a diaper and socks. Even more concerning was that the temperature outside was 38°F (3°C), but with the wind, conditions felt below freezing.

Jackson pulled over, wrapped the boy in his coat, and put him inside his car to warm up. Unfortunately, given the child’s age, he was too young to know where he lived or verbalize any information to Jackson. Therefore, Jackson flagged down another driver, asked them to call 911, and comforted the youngster until police arrived.

Detroit police were able to identify the toddler and trace his house to less than a block away from where he was found. It was later discovered that the little boy had wandered out of his home, where his 16-year-old sibling was babysitting him at the time. The toddler was taken to Children’s Hospital for an evaluation, and the incident was deemed an accident.^[9]

1 Hair Care Nightmare

In August 2015, Allison Henry ordered hair care products from Target. When the package arrived at Henry’s home in the Bronx, New York, the products she ordered were inside. However, there were also some creepy additions to her order—five vials of blood and a PlayStation game titled The Old Blood. Henry contacted UPS, Target, and the lab on the packaging. Unfortunately, no one could provide an explanation about what happened or provide any instruction on how to proceed with the items. Henry then got Eyewitness News involved.

Eyewitness News discovered that the blood Henry received belonged to Kelly Mikhalik. On August 24, 205, Mikhalik had overnighted a test for Lyme disease from her office in the Poconos, Pennsylvania. UPS advised that they were looking into what went wrong, but with both packages being shipped by UPS, it was believed that they somehow crossed paths at a sorting facility in Saddle Brook, New Jersey.^[10]