Oct 29, 2021 By Steve Barrett 2 min read

A rural mail carrier was killed Monday afternoon when a vehicle struck him after he left his vehicle to deliver a children’s book to the porch of a Morris Township home.

Greene County Coroner Gene Rush said Chad E. Varner, 49, of Spraggs was struck and killed in front of a residence on Andrews Road.

Greene County Regional Police Capt. William DeForte said Varner was close to the end of his shift for the U.S. Postal Service when he pulled up to a mailbox at the residence at around 2:35 p.m.

“He was delivering a children’s book and didn’t want to just leave it in the mailbox, so he took it upon himself to safely deliver it to the porch,” DeForte said. “That’s the kind of person he was … a decent man who was certainly loved in the community.”

DeForte said Varner was “clearly in the yard and well off of the road” when a vehicle drove into the yard and struck him. Rush pronounced Varner dead at 4:05 p.m.

“Mr. Varner was not in any place where he should have been hit by a vehicle,” DeForte said, adding he believes Varner could not have seen the vehicle from his viewpoint and the vehicle “took out” a row of hedges.

DeForte has confirmed the identification of the driver and passenger. He said the identities are being withheld and no arrests have yet been made as an investigation into the incident is ongoing.

DeForte said Greene County Regional Police are receiving assistance from state police and USPS in the investigation.