Postal Carrier Dies After Vicious Dog Attack

Robert Rochester loved his job as a mailman. But what happened last Friday is a part of the job that every mail carrier hates: A vicious dog with its sights set on Rochester and his uniform. 

"He started running in between the cars, the dog was just trying to attack him," Adreanna Cruz told Fox 29.  Cruz witnessed the attack. 

Another witness, Victor Hartnett, said Rochester "was scared to death, I mean he looked pale white.  He was petrified."

It happened just past 4 p.m. as Rochester collected mail from a postal bin on Main Street in Stanton, New Castle County. 

Rochester told his family the dog came out of nowhere.  He tried to escape, stopping traffic on the busy road, but no driver would offer him shelter. 

"He was saying, let me in, let me in," Hartnett said.  "He was being attacked for 25 minutes out there."  But Cruz explained, "No cars would open the door for him, no cars, everybody was just beeping." 

Cruz said the drivers appeared to be scared of the dog as well.  "A lady in truck finally opened her door," Cruz said, and drove Rochester to the hospital.

The dog bit the postal carrier on both legs, one arm, and his stomach.  He had been home recovering since Friday, when his wife of more than 30-years said he began having chest pains Wednesday night, before passing away. 

On Thursday, federal officials from the Postal Service and Occupational Safety went to the scene on what they called a fact-finding mission.

As for the dog's owner, he did not answer his door. 

A Delaware SPCA official told Fox 29 the German Shepherd and another dog had been in the fenced yard behind the home when they both got out.  State police finally shot the shepherd, but it survived and is now in quarantine.

No charges have been filed against the owner, but Fox 29 has learned they are coming.  Investigators are waiting for autopsy results so they can figure out exactly what charges to file.