‘Confused, lost, hurt, heartbroken’ : Family speaks after woman killed in accident at FedEx World Hub

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - State investigators are on-site at the FedEx World Hub where an employee died overnight in what police call a workplace accident.

Family confirms 33-year-old Jessica James is the employee who died overnight while on the job.

“The whole family is numb. We can’t even put it into words,” said James’ cousin, Tracy Mann.

Mann says James was her first cousin. They were raised as sisters. She says the family is in shock. Mann says they learned of her death in the middle of the night.

“Jessica was one that was very sweet. If you talked to anyone that knew her, they would tell you always a happy, bubbly, jolly person,” said Mann.

Mann says James loved her job and worked at the FedEx World Hub for over 10 years.

According to Memphis police, officers responded to a “personal injury” call just before 2 a.m. at the Hub on Sprankel Avenue. Police say a woman was operating a forklift when an accident occurred ultimately killing her.

FedEx released the following statement:

“We are deeply saddened to learn of the loss of our team member. Our heartfelt thoughts are with our team member’s family, their colleagues, and all those affected by this event. We are fully cooperating with the investigating authorities.”

Mann says FedEx officials personally went to James’ house to break the news of the tragedy to her parents.

“Confused, lost, hurt, heartbroken, and we just want some solid answers and not the publicity answers or the corporate answers, because we’re receiving too many conflicting stories from corporate versus employees that actually worked with her,” said Mann.

Investigators with the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration (TOSHA) arrived on-site Friday morning to survey the location of the incident, review company records, and procedures, and conduct interviews with management and employees.

TOSHA says a fatality investigation like this can take eight to 10 weeks to complete.

James’ family says they reached out to attorney Jeff Rosenblum who has represented other families who’ve lost loved ones on the job at FedEx.

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