Friday Fluff: Pizza Delivery with a Special (Cold) Side Item

A pizza deliveryman stopped by police told officers that he was delivering pizzas in the same station wagon he used to ferry bodies for a mortuary transport service.

Police say 24-year-old William Bethel Junior was stopped last Friday in Lower Southampton Township in suburban Philadelphia driving a station wagon with an expired inspection certificate. While checking the vehicle, police noticed a stretcher in the rear and asked what purpose it served. Police say Bethel told them that although he was delivering pizzas for a major pizza chain, he also “transports deceased bodies in the same vehicle.”

The car was impounded and Bethel was cited for driving with a suspended or revoked license and without a certificate of inspection. Bethel says it was the first time the vehicle had been used for both purposes. He says he had been called to fill in at the restaurant, and because his car was in the shop, he had taken the wagon. The car owner says he was fired and the restaurant manager says he resigned.

County and state health officials say there is no law against delivering a body and food in the same vehicle.