Fredericksburg, VA : Driver dies, inmates injured in Va. corrections van crash on Saturday, February 14, 2015

A driver died and several prisoners were injured early Saturday after a passenger van ran off State Route 3 in King George County and crashed into some trees, police said.
Dennis Toombs, 33, the driver, was in and out of consciousness at the scene, but was talking to deputies, King George Sheriff's spokeswoman Kecia Wharton said. But he died later in the morning after being taken to Mary Washington Hospital by ambulance.

Wharton said Toombs' death and the crash are under investigation.

According to Wharton, the wreck took place at 12:43 a.m. east of U.S. 301. Toombs was transporting nine low-risk prisoners from a job site in Westmoreland County back to the Stafford Men's Diversion Center on Eskimo Hill Road in Stafford County.

The passenger van, which had no prisoner restraints, was heading west when it crossed the yellow line and ran off the left side of the highway. It then went down an embankment and struck trees. The van is owned by the Department of Corrections.

Prisoners told police that most of them were sleeping when the crash took place. At least one of them told police that Toombs was coughing extremely hard just prior to losing control of the vehicle.

One of the prisoners called 911, and Deputy Brian Woodring was the first to arrive. Wharton said Woodring initially didn’t see the crash because it was so far off the road, but turned around after seeing one of the prisoners waving.

Five prisoners were outside the van when Woodring arrived, two of whom were lying on the ground injured. Toombs and four prisoners were still in the van.

Wharton said some of the prisoners assisted Woodring in getting three of the prisoners out of the van. Toombs and a prisoner who’d been sitting directly behind the driver were trapped in the wreckage.

Woodring eventually noticed smoke in the van, and one of the prisoners informed him that there was a small fire under the van. Woodring put the fire out with an extinguisher from his cruiser.

Other deputies and rescue workers later arrived and got the trapped passengers out of the van. One prisoner was flown to Mary Washington Hospital, while the other nine victims were transported by ambulance to three different hospitals.

Wharton said five of the victims were still in the hospital late Saturday, while four had been released by early afternoon.

Source :
Driver killed in crash of Virginia Department of Corrections van; inmates injured