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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels September 28, 2004 Hit-and-run suspect served on front lines in Iraq By Bill Choy Ashland Daily Tidings Ryan Dean Rackley - arrested on Friday for allegedly being the driver in a hit-and-run accident that resulted in the death of an Ashland man - is a former Ashland High School football and track athlete who served in the U.S. Marines Corps., including a tour of duty in the Middle East. Rackley, 24, was arraigned in Jackson County Court on Monday. He was arrested Friday night on suspicion of driving his car into 20-year-old Anthony James Waldron, while Waldron was walking along South Valley View Road on the evening of Sept. 15. Police say it was Rackley who fled the scene following the accident. Waldron was hurled about 70 feet, and died the next day at Rogue Valley Medical Center in Medford. He had been living for the past month at the Wellsprings campground off Highway 99. Rackley was arrested on charges of first and second-degree manslaughter, felony hit-and run and driving under the influence of intoxicants. Athlete, soldier Rackley has been in the news before, but for his accomplishments, not his potential crimes. A November 15, 1997 Medford Mail Tribune photo shows Rackley racing 78 yards on a kickoff return for a touchdown against Tigard. A March 20, 2003 Tidings article said Rackley was a sergeant in the 3rd division of the U.S. Marine Corps. The paper talked to his father, Bob Rackley of Ashland, shortly after the first U.S. bombs struck Iraq. At the time, the senior Rackley was monitoring the news, surfing between channels. "He's right on the front line - that's why we're watching," he said. Rackley said his son was due to get out of the service in January of 2003, after having served four years. His duty was extended because of military orders aimed at retaining skilled servicemen. "He was three weeks of getting out of the service. I asked how he felt about going back in, and he said "if my unit goes back, I'm going. We're like a family.' He was pretty adamant about that," the senior Rackley said. A message left at the home of Bob Rackley seeking comment was not returned by deadline today. In an article from the North County Times, a paper based in Southern California, a writer at Camp Doha in Kuwait talked to a number of soldiers from the 3rd division, including Ryan Rackley. The article said he had planned to start taking general education courses near Ashland, before hearing of the general discharge deferment. "But for something like this, I'm happy to go," he said. "We trained for four years and didn't get to see anything. I'm glad to be here." A tragic night Capt. Joe Puckett of the Jackson County Sheriff's Department said Rackley was seen drinking at an Ashland bar several hours before the fatal collision. According to Jackson County Circuit Court Records, he was cited for driving under the influence of alcohol in 1998. Rackley completed a one-year diversion program, resulting in the dismissal of the case. If he is convicted of first-degree manslaughter, Rackley would spend a minimum of 12 years in prison under Oregon's mandatory sentencing law, Measure 11. Rackley was first considered a suspect when he reported to Ashland police that someone stole his car. The car was found a day after the collision at Rackley's residence. The passenger side had been damaged, and the windshield was cracked, Puckett said. Some plastic parts found at the crash site also appeared to fit components broken from the car's undercarriage. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams