Prisoner Transport Van Crash
Charlie King was driving behind a utility truck when a prisoner transport van slammed into it before careening off the interstate and erupting in flames near Ocean Springs on Wednesday. Two people were killed and three others were seriously injured in the crash.
The officer and inmate who died have been identified as Michael Valera and William Rodman.
“It was horrible. The sound was horrible,” King said.
King’s dashcam footage shows the prisoner transport van cutting across multiple lanes and slamming into the utility truck before violently colliding with a metal support structure.
“When I saw it hit that upright pole and heard the loud sound, I knew it had to be bad because the vehicle disintegrated,” King said.
Mississippi Highway Patrol says three others were seriously injured in the crash, with two victims life-flighted to the hospital.
King said he was heading to Baton Rouge to visit family when his dashcam recorded the deadly crash. With more than 20 years of military service, he said instinct took over and he had to stop and help.
“I didn’t know it was that bad until I got out of my truck and ran back there,” King said. “I had to come back and get my fire extinguisher. The fire started out small, but by the time I got back, it was too far gone to put out with a fire extinguisher.”
Rescue efforts complicated by restraints
Investigators say the van was traveling from Florida to Mississippi to pick up an inmate from Harrison County when the crash occurred.
Officials say the inmates were handcuffed with waist chains and shackles and held in a closed compartment in the back of the van. Responders had to cut a hole in the side of the van to get them out.
“They got on handcuffs. I didn’t register it at the time but I found out later after reading the story they were prisoners inside of the van,” King said.
King, a retired mechanic, said he noticed the transport van was putting out an excessive amount of exhaust and wonders if something was wrong with the engine before the crash.
King’s rear dashcam also captured footage showing black smoke billowing from the wrecked van as first responders rushed to the scene.
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