Clarksburg, W.Va.: “Three prisoners who were trapped in a van after it was hijacked in 2001 by a fellow prisoner have filed a lawsuit against the van’s transport company and two of the company’s former employees.” (“Prisoners trapped in hijacked van sue transport company”, AP/AccessNorthGeorgia, Aug. 13). The lawsuit claims Tennessee-based TransCor America, Inc. should have prevented the Sept. 2001 escape, in which prisoner Christopher Paul Savage faked illness, overpowered guards and took off in the correctional van before abandoning it and its eight other prisoner-occupants at a closed restaurant nearby. “The prisoners were denied proper food and drink, were deprived of medication and were denied bathroom breaks, the lawsuit alleges.” (Matt Harvey, “Three prisoners file lawsuit over fourth prisoner’s 2001 escape”, Clarksburg (W.Va.) Exponent Telegram, Aug. 14). No word in the latest stories about how long this deprivation lasted, but AP’s 2001 coverage says Savage abandoned the van only a quarter mile from where he hijacked it. (“Prisoner overpowers van guards, escapes”, Sept. 29, 2001, and “Armed prisoner still on the loose after early scuffle”, Citizens Against Private Prisons — scroll down about 2/3 on page).

Filed under: prisoners, Tennessee