TDCJ Crash: Surviving Inmates Transferred to Prison Medical Centers

 

Two of the four inmates that were critically injured in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice bus crash on Jan. 14 have been discharged from the Medical Center Hospital in Odessa and will continue to receive treatment at the Western Regional Medical Facility in Lubbock (WRMF). 

Damien Rodriguez, initially listed as in critical condition, and Remigio Pineda, who was in serious condition after the crash, have both improved, TDCJ Public Information Director Jason Clark said Wednesday, but will require further treatment for their injuries. A third inmate, Terry Johnson, is scheduled to be discharged this afternoon to the WMRF. 

Clark explained that the WMRF is a prison infirmary on the the grounds of Lubbock's Montford Unit. In a partnership with the TDCJ, Texas Tech Health Science Center provides medical care at the facility. 

A fourth offender, Hector Rivera, has been discharged from Odessa, but requires further treatment beyond that which the WMRF can provide. Rivera has been transferred to the TDCJ's secure Hospital Galveston. The TDCJ's second medical partner, University of Texas Medical Branch, provides care at the hospital. 

Families have been notified of the reassignments and will be permitted to visit their loved ones. 

Correctional Officer Jason Self, the only officer that served the crash, continues to improve but is in critical condition at the University Medical Center in Lubbock. Clark relayed in a press release that Self underwent surgery on Tuesday and requested that the public "keep him in your prayers".

On Monday, a funeral was held for correctional officer Eligio Garcia; the funeral for correctional officer Christopher Davis is scheduled for Jan. 24.

Ten people died in the crash on Jan. 14, including eight inmates and two correctional officers. The bus was en-route from Abilene to El Paso when it lost control on a bridge on I-20 and plummeted to train tracks below, where it was struck by an oncoming engine. 

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