Wichita mail carrier honored for saving a life while finishing her daily route

Though she’s not off work this week shooting a movie, mail carrier Tiffany McCarty said that’s what it feels like.

She’s actually in Washington, D.C., to be feted by the National Association of Letter Carriers at its “Heroes of the Year” lunch that annually recognizes postal employees who give more to their jobs than expected.

In McCarty’s case, she saved a life while also finishing her route for the day.

McCarty has been a carrier for only three years, and when the incident happened in February 2025, she didn’t yet have a permanent route.

She was delivering mail on one side of a street — McCarty would rather not say where or share her photo of herself out of safety concerns — when the incident happened.

“A young girl ran across the street yelling, ‘Help, he’s going to kill me! He’s got a gun!’ ” McCarty said. “She was so young and distraught.”

McCarty later learned the woman was 21.

“I called 911 and sat her down on that little stool inside of our truck so she couldn’t be visible.”

Not unlike the young woman, McCarty said she was in shock, too, and a little unsure of what to do.

“She just kept repeating, ‘He’s got a gun! He’s going to get me!’ ”

McCarty decided to squeeze herself between a tray that holds mail and the seat of the truck to hide as well.

Before hiding, McCarty got a look at the man searching for the young woman, and she said he was looking everywhere but didn’t seem to notice her mail truck.

“I just sat there with my hazards on like I was delivering.”

McCarty said she’s not sure how long it took for the police to arrive, but she said, “Oh, my gosh, it felt like forever.”

Driving away didn’t seem to be an option because of where the woman was sitting in the truck.

“She’d have gotten hurt if I’d have drove off,” McCarty said.

Helping her to the back of the truck would have drawn too much attention, she said.

“It was crazy.”

Once the police arrived, McCarty finished delivering mail to the side of the street where she started and then went to the other side where the man had come out looking for the woman.

His home had a mailbox at the house instead of the street, so that’s where McCarty had to deliver it.

Even though the police were still there, she said, “I was scared.”

Although McCarty said, “I do think he would have hurt her,” she also can’t believe she’s being given an award and an all-expenses-paid trip for what she did.

“I feel like I was just in the right place at the right time. . . . I feel like this is way more than I deserve.”

And though she said she just delivers the mail, at the same time, McCarty said she is worried what may happen if one day there are no mail carriers left.

“I just want to say that postal workers, we see a lot.”

For instance, if an elderly person’s mail begins to pile up, McCarty said she and her colleagues often will ask for a welfare check.

“I feel like we are more than just letter carriers. We are out in the community. . . . I feel like we’re needed. I really do.”