The Kittitas County sheriff's office says a 79-year-old Ellensburg, Wash., woman was killed by her own SUV, apparently when she stopped to get her mail.

The sheriff's office said Alice Manz was found Thursday near her mailbox on Robbins Road.

A preliminary investigation indicated Manz pulled up near the mailbox, and started to get out, apparently believing the SUV was in park. A sheriff's office statement says the vehicle hit her and traveled backward until it struck a post. Investigators found the SUV with the engine running and the transmission in reverse.

The sheriff's office found no signs that anyone else was present and says the death appears to be an accident.