MARION COUNTY - A single-vehicle crash Wednesday, August 2, on Highway 278 in Marion County has caused the deaths of two Alabama Department of Correction inmates.
Ronnie Steven Cornelius, 30, and Colt Eugene Morris, 40, succumbed to injuries they sustained when they were hit by a vehicle while working with an Alabama Department of Transportation road crew along Highway 278, according to a press release from the Alabama Department of Corrections. The driver of the vehicle, as well as the make and model of the vehicle involved, were not released by the ADOC. The exact time the accident occurred was also not given by the ADOC.
Cornelius was serving a 20-year sentence for first degree robbery out of Colbert County and Morris was serving a 30-year sentence for first degree theft of property out of Escambia County. They were both housed at the Hamilton Community-Based Facility and were part of an 11-man road crew with Hamilton CBF picking up trash along Highway 278 when the accident occurred. Both Cornelius and Morris were wearing reflective vests and safety policies were being followed when the crash occurred, according to the press release.
"ADOC would like to express its deepest condolences to the families of these two men who were killed in this tragic accident," ADOC Commissioner John Q. Hamm stated.
Troopers with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Highway Patrol Division are investigating the accident and will release further information soon.
See complete story in the Northwest Alabamian.
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