'Stressed' Amazon driver abandons 80 packages in Mass. woods during holiday shipping rush

Marlene Lenthang

December 24, 2024 at 6:25 PM

Dozens of Amazon packages were discovered abandoned in the woods of a Massachusetts town mere days before Christmas, but it wasn't the Grinch stealing presents -- it was a delivery driver who said stress led them to dump the lot.

A Lakeville police sergeant discovered the horde of packages during a routine patrol around 2 a.m. on Sunday.

The sergeant noticed items were "unattended" in a wooded area near 63 Bedford Street. When he went further to investigate, he found "three large totes full of Amazon packages that were spread out several feet into the woods," Lakeville police said in a news release.

The totes were brought back to the police station -- containing 80 packages in total.

Police had received no reports that the packages were stolen or misplaced, so they contacted a local Amazon distribution center in Middleborough and returned them.

On Monday, an Amazon driver visited the Lakeville Police Department and said they left those packages on the side of the road around 7 p.m. on Saturday "because they were stressed."

The driver said they planned to report the incident to their manager. Police did not disclose the name of the driver.

Lakeville police said they are not seeking any criminal charges.

"I am proud of the way our Lakeville Police officers handled and investigated this matter. At this time, we are not seeking criminal charges and are considering this a human resources matter for Amazon," Chief Matthew Perkins said.