U.S. Postal Service investigators have interviewed neighbors and witnesses to find out what caused a postal carrier's fatal injuries along an Oceanside mail route.
Postal officials said it appears a dog lunged at 33-year old Eddie Lin while he was delivering mail on Stanley Street in Oceanside on May 25, causing Lin to hit his head on the ground. Lin, a father of three, died ten days after the attack.
The daughter of the dog's owner, who identified herself as Eva, said the incident has devastated her father.
"We feel really bad," Eva told NBCSanDiego in an exclusive interview. "It's just killing my Dad."
The Rottweiler named Brutus was about three and a half years old, according to Eva. "We never had one problem with it, never showed one aggressive sign or anything." After the incident, the family asked the San Diego County Humane Society to euthanize the dog.
Lin was delivering the mail around 4:30 p.m. when Brutus escaped out the front door of his home and headed for Lin.
"We heard screaming," said neighbor Georgia Mitsopoulos whose gardner saw what happened. "He said the dog ran across the street and the next thing he knew the mailman was on the ground."
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Another neighbor also rushed outside and found Lin lying in the street dazed and drifting in and out of consciousness.
"The dog was standing a few feet from him and the owner ran outside and put him back in the house," said a witness who didn't want to be identified.
Lin was taken to Tri-City Medical Center and placed in an induced coma, according to his widow Teri. "He had a severe head injury, he had a black eye."
Teri Lin said her husband also had scratches on his back and his shirt was ripped in the same area.
Eddie Lin died from his injuries on June 3. He had three children, ages 10 years old to five months old.
Teri Lin accuses the Oceanside Police Department of failing to take action on her husband's death. She said none of the investigators have called her to update her on the investigation.
When NBCSanDiego interviewed neighbors for this report, they said patrol officers took a statement from the dog owner at the time of the attack. But since then no police investigator had come out to interview any witnesses.
"The post office took our statement and so did OSHA, but police still haven't done anything,"said one neighbor who didn't want to be identified. "It makes me really mad. The man died."
An Oceanside police spokesperson said the investigation was ongoing but no criminal charges had been filed.
When asked if it was true that investigators had not interviewed witnesses, Lt. Leonard Mata said he would find out and hopefully have some answers Tuesday.
"I'm just kind of outraged with the Oceanside Police Department," Teri Lin said.
She is now planning for her husband's funeral which will be held on Wednesday in the Los Angeles area where the couple first met in high school.
Teri Lin said her family is in financial trouble because the U.S. Postal Service is no longer sending her husband's paychecks.
"He was a very loving person, an all around good guy, he took care of his family," Teri said about her husband. "My kids lost their father, someone needs to be held responsible."
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service wouldn't comment any further because the investigation is ongoing.
