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Postal worker dies after box truck crashes into vehicle near 52nd Street and McDowell

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PHOENIX — A U.S. postal worker has died and a box truck driver was seriously hurt following a two-vehicle crash Tuesday evening in Phoenix.

The Phoenix Fire Department said the crash was reported shortly after 6 p.m. near 52nd Street and McDowell Road.

According to police, a United States Postal Service vehicle was pulled to the side of the road, next to a mailbox, when it was hit from behind by a box truck.

When emergency crews responded to the scene, the mail vehicle was on fire with a person still inside. That person, identified by police as 59-year-old Michael Blanton, died at the scene,

The driver of the box truck, identified as a 35-year-old man, was transported to a hospital with serious injuries, according to police.

Preliminary information indicates no obvious signs of impairment, police said.

No other details were immediately released.