One prisoner and one correctional officer were injured this morning when two Cook County sheriff’s buses transporting prisoners collided on the southbound Stevenson Expressway, officials said.
The accident happened about 7:55 a.m. in the left lane of the expressway just north of Pulaski Road, when one of the two buses ran into the rear of the second one, according to Master Sgt. Jason LoCoco of the Illinois State Police.
According to Frank Bilecki, spokesman for the Cook County Sheriff's Office, the two buses were part of a five-vehicle convoy that was transporting 106 prisoners from Cook County Jail to Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet. The convoy included a squad car in the lead, and four buses following. Three of the buses carried prisoners and the fourth was a backup.
Traffic stopped suddenly on the expressway and the first two vehicles in the convoy, the squad car and the first bus, stopped without any problem, but the third vehicle, also a bus carrying prisoners, ran into the back of the second vehicle. The other two vehicles in the convoy, both buses, stopped without incident.
Bilecki said that the five vehicles travel closely together for security reasons, to prevent other vehicles from breaking them up.
Bilecki said one prisoner and one correctional officer were taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital for further observation. The prisoner was placed on a stretcher after reporting some back or neck pain before being taken from the scene, Bilecki said, and the officer was able to walk before being taken to the hospital. No specific condition was available for either, but Bilecki believed their injuries were considered minor.
Bilecki did not know which bus the injured prisoner or the injured officer was on.
Bilecki said that all of the buses were able to leave the scene and return to Cook County Jail, where the other 105 prisoners will be checked out at Cermak Health Services of Cook County at the jail before being transported later to Stateville.
Bilecki said that officials will review camera footage from cameras on the buses to see if anything else can be learned about the accident.
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