By Theresa Goodwin
Six inmates and a prison officer who were involved in a vehicular collision on Thursday have been released from Mount St John’s Medical Centre (MSJMC) following treatment.
They were all rushed to the hospital after the yellow Daihatsu truck they were travelling in collided with a silver minivan along the Cedar Valley main road around 9.30am.
While details regarding the actual incident remain under investigation, a video being circulated on social media shows a yellow pick-up truck in a ditch with fire officers on the scene, and a damaged van blocking the road, surrounded by onlookers.
When Observer arrived on the scene, crime scene investigators were still there taking photographs and collecting information.
An investigating officer confirmed that the drivers of both vehicles and a number of inmates had been taken to hospital for treatment. The status of the driver of the minivan is not yet known.
Prison Superintendent Eugene Philip later informed Observer that all inmates and the officer had been treated for minor injuries and released.
The prison boss also revealed that the prison officer was the driver behind the wheel of the yellow truck that was transporting the inmates.
He said, prior to the incident, the inmates had just completed work at the prison’s animal farm in McKinnon’s and were on their way to the vegetable farm in the vicinity of Potworks Dam.
Phillip also dispelled rumours that some inmates attempted to escape after the accident.
He said that everyone involved in the collision could be accounted for.