1 staffer killed, another injured in Colo. prison

1 staffer killed, another injured in Colo. prison

CROWLEY, Colo. (AP) — A female kitchen employee was killed and another seriously injured today in a disturbance involving an inmate while breakfast was being prepared at a state prison in southeast Colorado, a spokeswoman said.

State investigators were called to Crowley, about 45 miles southeast of Pueblo, to try to determine what happened. Meals were being delivered from other facilities after the kitchen was shut down.

The Arkansas Valley Correctional Facility houses about 1,000 male prisoners and was put on lockdown.

In 1989, the facility gained international notoriety when a helicopter swooped into the yard and spirited two inmates to freedom. Prison officials said they could not fire on the aircraft because they couldn’t get a clear shot.

The prisoners were recaptured after they switched to a rental van and got into a gun battle with authorities in Nebraska.