2 Alabama inmates killed while working on road crew for state

HAMILTON, Ala. (AP) — Two Alabama inmates on a work crew were killed Wednesday after being struck by a car while picking up trash on the side of a highway, prison officials said.

Ronnie Steven Cornelius, 30, and Colt Eugene Morris, 40, were hit by a vehicle while working on a Alabama Department of Transportation road crew in Marion County, the prison system said in a news release. The accident occurred on Highway 278.

“ADOC would like to express its deepest condolences to the families of these two men who were killed in this tragic accident,” Corrections Commissioner John Hamm said.

The two men were housed at a community correctional facility in Hamilton. The facility had an 11-man road crew picking up trash along the highway when the accident occurred, the prison system said.

The Alabama Department of Corrections did not release additional information about the accident other than to say the men were wearing reflective vests and “safety policies were being followed when the crash occurred.”

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency is investigating the accident, prison officials said.