A United States Postal Services mail carrier was airlifted to a hospital after her vehicle was struck by a truck Monday at the 700 block of Newton Road. Georgia State Patrol Cpl. Jeremy Hilley was unsure of the mail carrier’s condition or where she was taken.

“What we’re seeing so far was she was stopped delivering mail,” Hilley said. “The witness said that she had just closed the door on the mailbox, and vehicle number one — the black pickup truck — came up behind her, never hit the brakes, never got over and just slammed into her from the rear then pushed her into the ditch. He never lost contact with her, pushed her into the ditch where she struck embankment and totaled right there.”

Hilley said the driver of the truck did roadside sobriety tests and was being taken to WellStar West Georgia Medical Center for a blood test. 

Hilley said the truck driver had not been charged as of Monday afternoon.

Neighbor Melissa Higgins said she was outside, but didn’t see the impact when it happened. Higgins said after she heard the crash she checked in on the truck driver, who he said he was OK, and when she checked on the USPS driver, she was almost knocked out of the vehicle. Hilley said she still had her lap belt on.

“He never even slowed down,” said neighbor Carlene Ogletree, who heard the incident from her house. “There was no sound of any brakes or anything.”

Ogletree said another neighbor helped stabilize the USPS driver until AMR arrived. Both Higgins and Ogletree said the postal worker is a sweet person.

“Whenever I come out to the truck to get my mail when she has to bring it to the house, she’s always got a smile on her face,” Ogletree said. “[She] always asks me how I’m doing.”

Higgins said cars are constantly speeding on Newton Road.

“Citizens on the roadway should slow down and move over, treat them as a law enforcement officer or emergency vehicle on the side of the road, slow down, go around them with caution and be prepared to come to a stop because you never know if something like this could happen,” Hilley said.