GUN PLAIN TOWNSHIP, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — A driver who hit a postal truck and set off a chain reaction causing that vehicle to catch fire has been arraigned in court.
36-year-old Spencer Baird has been charged for one count of moving violation causing death. The Allegan County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that the case will now be turned over to Allegan County District Court for future proceedings.
Around 12:25 P.M. on Monday, January 6th Baird was traveling southbound on 10th street near Carrie Avenue in Gun Plain Township. That’s when his pickup truck struck the vehicle of postal worker Sheila Gay Rackley who was delivering mail near the roadside.
Responding officers found the postal truck stuck in a nearby ditch and engulfed in flames. The 55-year-old Rackley’s body was discovered in the wreckage after the flames were put out.
Baird was wearing a seatbelt and was not injured in the crash. It’s unclear if Rackley was wearing a seatbelt at the time her postal truck was rear-ended.
In a statement released following the incident, the sheriff’s office said they did not have reason to believe that drugs or alcohol were factors in the crash.
