While delivering on Freestates Road in an extremely rural area on Wednesday, March 28, Rural Carrier Chrystal Gillespie, of Route 1, Latta, spotted a wreck. A vehicle had run off the road and flipped over in a ditch, and the occupant was trapped, as the car doors were blocked by terrain.
Gillespie secured her vehicle at a safe distance and approached the wreck, which was smoking. She dialed 911 as she walked across the road, noticing that the occupant had freed herself from the seatbelt and was moving. She was bleeding, but conscious and calling for help. Chrystal saw that her only possibility for quick escape was through the trunk, which was ajar.
Gillespie was able to push the car to further open the trunk, and allow the victim enough room to crawl out. Soon, emergency services arrived, and Chrystal was able to continue on her route.
“Thankfully, she was conscious and not severely injured,” said Gillespie. “We were able to work together to get her free. She needed help right away, and I came along just in time.”
Chrystal Gillespie now becomes one of over two hundred Postal employees recognized annually for assistance to residents on their routes in a time of need.
She will receive a letter of commendation from the Postmaster General, Patrick Donohoe.