Two correctional officers and eight prison inmates were killed in West Texas when their bus skidded off an icy highway overpass and struck a passing train
On Wednesday morning, a Texas prison bus was traveling along I-20, transferring 12 inmates from the Middleton prison in Abilene to the Sanchez prison in El Paso. There were three correctional officers on board. About 7:30 a.m., just west of Odessa, the bus skidded off an icy highway overpass down an embankment before striking a passing Union Pacific train. The crumpled bus ended up on its side with heavy damage to its top and underside.
Two correctional officers and eight inmates were killed. One correctional officer and four inmates were taken to Odessa’s Medical Center Hospital with injuries ranging from serious to critical.
Brad Livingston, executive director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, released the following statement: “It's with a heavy heart that we mourn the loss of those killed and injured this morning in a tragic accident. Their loved ones will be in our thoughts and prayers."
TDCJ will have a much, much heavier heart when all the lawsuits filed by the families of the correctional officers and inmates killed and injured are resolved.
Whenever there are icy conditions on Texas highways, the authorities issue warnings advising people to stay off the roads. Why the prison authorities fail to heed such warnings is beyond my comprehension. Surely, the prison system would not have collapsed had the transfer been delayed by a day or two, or three.
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