Jail mourns corrections officer's death
Aug. 31—A Hubbard woman accused of running over and killing a Lawrence County corrections officer, said to be her wife, is in the Trumbull County Jail.
Meanwhile, the staff at the Lawrence County jail is saddened by the death of Amanda Markowitz, 34, the victim of the deadly accident. Markowitz had worked at the jail for 10 years.
Liberty Township police in Ohio have charged 26-year-old Alexandria Renee Morales of Hubbard with aggravated vehicular homicide, domestic violence, driving while under the influence of alcohol and resisting arrest, in connection with the deadly incident that occurred around 3:15 a.m. Friday outside a house in the 5800 block of Sampson Drive in Liberty Township.
According to reports, Markowitz and Morales, who police said lived together as partners in Hubbard, were drinking at a male friend's home when Morales tried to leave. An argument ensued between the two women and Markowitz reportedly was standing behind the truck when Morales backed it over her.
Markowitz was taken to St. Elizabeth's Youngstown Hospital, where she died from her injuries.
Morales was arrested at the scene. She was arraigned Monday on all of her charges in Girard (Ohio) Municipal Court and her jail bond on the aggravated vehicular homicide charge is $150,000. Her preliminary hearing is set for Wednesday. There is no bond on the other charges, according to information from the court.
Markowitz's death has rocked the Lawrence County jail staff.
"Everybody's just sad and shocked," Warden Brian Covert said Monday. "This one hurts."
Covert said she is one of the first officers he interviewed and hired when he became the warden.
"Someone like that you can never replace," he said. "Amanda was very well liked by everybody. She was an exceptional officer. She always had a smile on her face and never complained. She was also an exceptional human being, always pleasant, always in a good mood."
Markowitz had worked a regular 2 to 10 p.m. shift at the jail and had become close friends with her co-workers on that shift, he said.
The jail has had counselors and a minister available to help the workers with grief counseling, Covert said, adding, "You can't help but build close relationships when you're working eight, 10, 12 and 16 hours with an individual. You build friendships, and everybody liked Amanda."
"I'd like to offer my sympathy to all of the staff who have known her over the years, and to her friends and family," Covert said.
"She was a very loving, caring person, she was an amazing officer, and she always had everyone's back," one co-worker said. "She laughed and smiled a lot, joked around, she was an awesome person."
Corrections officer Melissa Colaluca and another co-worker have started a monetary collection for Markowitz's family to help cover her funeral and estate costs. Anyone who wants to donate may do so by a Cash App, Venmo, PayPal or cash. For more information on donating, people may call Colaluca at (724) 730-8897.
"She was a sweet person," Colaluca said. "She found good in everyone she met. I watched her grow from a trainee to a great officer. She always had that trademark smile. The whole jail, especially the afternoon crew, is crushed by her tragic death. You can feel the (sense of) loss in the air there."
Colaluca, who has worked at the jail for 25 years, said, "there isn't a single person here who isn't mourning."
Another co-worker came up with the idea of marking Markowitz's parking spot outside the jail with a memorial, where people have continued since Friday to flood the spot with notes, flowers, pictures and other items in her memory.
