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Jackson, Miss. —  A Mississippi Correctional Officer was killed in a car accident on Monday.

According to the release, Officer Iris Smith, 53, died instantly when the car she was driving crashed into the back of an 18-wheeler on U.S. 49 in Hattiesburg.

Another officer was transporting an inmate in an ambulance behind her.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Sgt. Smith’s family,” Corrections Commissioner Marshall Fisher said. “Her unexpected death shows how fragile life is. It’s the kind of news we all dread hearing. She was driving from one destination to another as a certified peace officer to provide the secure custody and control of an inmate when her life was cut short.”

Smith was helping to escort that inmate from Greene County Hospital to Forrest General Hospital.

The last MDOC officer killed in the line of duty was back in 1999.

The Hattiesburg Police Department said they were still investing the crash.

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