On January 6, a crash was reported to Allegan Central Dispatch on 10th St. south of Carrie Ave. in Gun Plains Township. Upon arrival of fire and police units two vehicles were confirmed to be involved with one vehicle found in the roadway and one vehicle in an adjacent ditch and fully engulfed in flames. The operator of the vehicle in the ditch was determined to be a member of the US Postal Service and the vehicle she was operating was a US Postal Service vehicle. The vehicle was completely destroyed by fire and the operator of the postal vehicle was found in the wreckage after the fire was extinguished. The deceased driver was identified as Sheila Gay Rackley, a 55 year old female from the Martin area who worked out of the Plainwell Post Office.
Police say a south bound pickup truck driven by a male driver struck the rear of the postal vehicle as Rackley was delivering mail. The driver of the pickup was wearing a seatbelt and was uninjured in the crash.
Due to the possibility of charges being issued in this case, the name of the pickup driver will not be released until a decision is made by the prosecutor’s office when the investigation is complete.
