LIMON — The Colorado Department of Corrections is reviewing its inmate seat-belt policy in the wake of questions about a rollover accident that killed a 22-year-old prison guard and a 57-year-old inmate.
The van crashed Dec. 19 on an icy stretch of Interstate 70 east of Limon. Grace Cortez, the driver, and another guard were transporting nine inmates from the Kit Carson Correctional Facility in Burlington to the Limon Correctional Facility when the vehicle went out of control and rolled over at least twice.
The inmates had no seat belts in the van, which was owned by Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), a private-prison company that Colorado pays to house some inmates.
Cortez and inmate Andres Valdez died. Cortez was wearing a seat belt. The other guard was not, but he survived.
“It was pretty crazy on that ride,” inmate Kitt Cook said.
Cook sat right next to Valdez.
“We were going faster than all of the other traffic,” Cook said.
According to a Colorado State Patrol report, speeding and an inexperienced driver were factors in the crash.
Colorado Department of Corrections spokeswoman Katherine Sanguinetti said the incident prompted the state to review its policies. “We are talking to other states and looking at what other policies are,” she said.
Some prisoners do get seat belts.
Inmates transferring between state prisons can buckle up, but the state doesn’t require private-prison companies that transport state inmates to have vehicles with seat belts.
Most states require inmates to be buckled up or require that inmates be given the option. States that do not are Colorado, Delaware, Massachusetts, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island and Texas.
The inmates were riding in a Ford E350 passenger van.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2002 issued a warning about large passenger vans and their risk of rollovers. The warning recommends “all occupants wear seat belts at all times.” It also says, “Wearing seat belts dramatically increases the chances of survival during a rollover crash.”
Sanguinetti acknowledged that inmates fall under that recommendation.
She said the DOC could require private prisons to offer inmates seat belts in transport vans if the policy review shows that is necessary.
“That could be written into the contract,” she said.
Sanguinetti also said the only time transports are canceled is when roads are closed. The state Department of Transportation kept the icy stretch of I-70 open all day on Dec. 19.
CCA officials issued this statement: “We continue to be deeply saddened by this tragic accident. The safety of our staff and the inmates entrusted to our care has always been our top priority at CCA, and we remain committed to upholding the highest standards for our operations.”
