By STAFF
DIXIE INN, LA (KSLA) - One inmate was trying to save another inmate when both fell out of a pickup, killing one and injuring the other, authorities say.
It happened about 11 a.m. Wednesday on Main Street (U.S. Highway 80) just west of U.S. Highway 371 in Dixie Inn.
The inmates were part of a crew reading water meters, Webster sheriff’s Chief Deputy Bobby Igo said.
After reading a meter, one inmate hopped back into the back of a pickup being driven by the Webster Parish village’s maintenance supervisor.
That inmate slipped and began to fall out of the village-owned truck as it began moving on to the next meter, Igo said.
That’s when the other inmate grabbed the falling inmate, and they both fell out of the vehicle.
The second inmate was killed when he hit the pavement.
The other one was taken to Ochsner LSU Health in Shreveport for treatment of unknown injuries that authorities said did not appear to be life-threatening.
The truck was reported to have been traveling at 10 mph tops at the time of the accident, Igo said.
The accident is being investigated by Louisiana State Police.
The inmate who died had been a part of the village meter-reading crew since 2016.
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