LEXINGTON, S.C. (AP) - More than a dozen county coroners in South Carolina now paint white crosses on the roads where people died in car wrecks, an action criticized by some say the image violates the separation of church and state.
The State in Columbia reports that Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher recently began painting the crosses. She says the crosses are memorials for the families of the dead and also encourage safer driving.
Coroners say they typically do not repaint them after roads are resurfaced.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation wrote a letter to the Department of Transportation in August 2016 after receiving a complaint from a resident about coroners painting crosses at the sites of motorcycle fatalities. Foundation attorney Patrick Elliott says the crosses violate the First Amendment and state highway laws.
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Information from: The State, https://www.thestate.com
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