A Tallahatchie County (Miss.) road employee and three state inmates he was driving to a work assignment died early May 30 when a freight train slammed into their extended-cab pickup on Mississippi 32.
The collision happened about 6:47 a.m. on the busy highway about three miles east of Webb in the Mikoma community. The inmates had been picked up from the Tallahatchie Community Work Program in Sumner and were being driven to a county work site about 10 miles away when the Chevrolet was struck by a southbound Canadian National/ICC freight train, District 2 Supervisor Johnny Goodwin said.
There was a flashing light, but no crossing gate, at the railroad crossing on Mississippi 32, the main east-west route into Tallahatchie County, Goodwin said.
"Basically, they failed to yield to the train," said Mississippi Highway Patrol Staff Sgt. Scott Swanson of the Batesville District.
"It's a tragedy," Tallahatchie County Sheriff William Brewer Jr. said. "Normally, we never have anything like this on Memorial Day."
Brewer said Hilson was the father of one of his jailers, which makes the situation even more difficult. He said it's routine for county employees rather than sheriff's deputies to drive inmates to work sites, and Hilson had been transporting inmates for about five years.
Brewer knew the two inmates killed from Tallahatchie County. "They were non-violent offenders. They were good boys who made a mistake," he said. "I hate what happened to them."
Department of Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps said his agency is investigating. "It was a terrible accident," said Epps, who conferred with the Tallahatchie County sheriff. "My condolences go out to the families."