WALKING FATAL FOR FREED JAIL INMATE

SAN LUIS OBISPO (AP) - For freed County Jail inmates, the four-mile walk to
town can be a deadly trek. Two were recently struck by cars on Highway 1
and one of them, a legally blind man, was killed.

About 30 inmates are released each day at the rural jail and Sheriff Pat
Hedges said transportation options are available to them - if they ask.

Scott W. Bennett didn't ask for help when he was released on Nov. 12.

The legally blind San Luis Obispo man was walking down the middle of the
Highway 1 in the dark when he was struck by a Volkswagen van and killed
between the jail and California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo.

"Mr. Bennett had options available to him. But he would have had to ask,"
Hedges said.

Released inmates can get rides from family or friends, a $15 cab ride or a
bus that costs less than $2 and passes the jail four times a day. The bus
only stops at the jail if someone calls in advance and service ends at 6 p.m.

While the jail is under no obligation to provide transportation for
released prisoners, the Sheriff's Department will now add a cab shuttle
into town for poor inmates.

Inmate Constance Hamilton was hit by a car and suffered minor injuries two
hours after she was released Sunday night. The California Highway Patrol
said she was under the influence of alcohol when she walked into the path
of a Honda.

"I tried to call a cab. I had $27. I couldn't get through," Hamilton, 55,
of Morro Bay said Tuesday night. "I don't see why they (deputies) can't
call a taxicab for you when you have the money to pay for it."

Hedges said it is the jail's policy to allow a free telephone call to
anyone who had trouble with the pay phone.

Hamilton was picked up for public intoxication at 12:50 p.m. on Sunday and
was taken to the jail, Hedges said. She was released at 6:10 p.m.

The woman said she shouldn't have been released.

"I was drunk. They released me too soon," she said.

The sheriff said the jail holds drunken inmates for a minimum of four hours
and requires them to pass sobriety tests before they are released.