Department of Corrections bus crashes in Arizona; ‘several’ inmates

The crash happened at about 1:30 a.m. According to DPS, the bus carrying inmates was traveling westbound on I-8 when it slammed into a commercial vehicle that had rolled over on the interstate.

Authorities say an Arizona Department of Corrections bus carrying about 50 inmates has hit a semi-truck that had rolled over and blocked the lanes on Interstate 8.

The Department of Corrections said 22 people, including two staff members and 20 inmates were injured in the crash.

The inmates, all of whom were minimum security prisoners, stayed on the scene to help with directing traffic and administering first aid to the injured.

The crash shutdown a westbound stretch of Interstate 8 for several hours.

“We don’t know why the driver crashed, so he’ll be interviewed once he’s stable”, Case said of the prison bus driver. Josh Wilhelm from the Department of Public Safety told the Associated Pressthat he never expected prison inmates to be so quick to lend a helping hand when they could have been making a break for it. Their conditions were not immediately known.

Around 20 inmates were taken to a hospital for serious and minor injuries. They were returning from a work detail in Casa Grande. If you would like to discuss another topic, look for a relevant article.