Community launches GoFundMe for spouse of Bradenton mail carrier killed in crash

Friends, family and community members are mourning the loss of a mail carrier who was killed in a crash while on his route in a Bradenton neighborhood on Monday.

Michael Silvestri, 41, is remembered lovingly in social media tributes as a mentor, an “awesome friend,” “an amazing person” and a “good all around guy.”

A GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign launched by one of Silvestri’s neighbors seeks to raise money for the mail carrier’s surviving spouse, Megan Silvestri, a local mental health counselor and former school guidance counselor for the School District of Manatee County. A former trainee of Silvestri’s has launched a separate campaign to support Silvestri’s wife and stepdaughter on the Spotfund website.

Silvestri was on his route in his mail truck on Monday afternoon when a driver in an SUV ran a stop sign and collided with the side of the truck, flipping it over, according to the Bradenton Police Department. Silvestri died at the scene of the accident.

On Facebook, current and former postal service coworkers recalled Silvestri’s kind and helpful instruction when they were starting out in the field. Silvestri also served as a union steward for the local branch of the National Association of Letter Carriers.

Residents who live on Silvestri’s former route also shared fond memories of the Bradenton resident.

The GoFundMe page for Silvestri’s family can be found at gofundme.com/f/help-us-ease-some-of-megans-worry, and the Spotfund campaign is at spot.fund/nKAaTO.

This story was originally published September 23, 2021 at 8:11 PM.