LIMESTONE COUNTY, Texas (KXXV) — A Central Texas mother is calling for answers from the state after officials said her son was one of more than two dozen inmates injured when their transport bus rolled over in Limestone County earlier this month.
She reached out to us first to share her story.
Watch the full story here:
33-year-old Buddy Rhoudes was one of the 26 inmates that was injured earlier this month when their transport bus rolled over in Limestone County on Highway 164 back on July 1.
One staffer on board was also injured and received medical treatment.
A newly released TxDOT crash report said the driver was asleep behind the wheel, which led the bus to hit a guard rail and roll over.
Rhoudes has been behind bars for the last year, stemming from drug-related charges, according to his mother, Beverly Thurston.
Thurston wants accountability from the state, not just for her son but for everyone hurt.
Also See: 7 inmates injured in prison bus crash near Groesbeck
Also See: Driver fell asleep causing inmate bus to overturn in Limestone County, TxDOT report says
She said, “come forward, tell us what happened.”
She’s raising questions like “why was the driver asleep behind the wheel?” and “Who’s making sure that those injured are being taken care of especially once they’re out of prison?”
“His back hurts. His legs hurt. He had a cut I believe on his left shoulder and I believe he called them contusions on his legs. He already had underlying medical conditions and that’s my concern and not just for him, all 26 of them," she said.
Thurston said she is going far and wide to have this story heard.
“Trying to get in touch with the warden over there, I’ve left messages and I’m gonna reach out to the governor" the concerned mother said.
We’ve sent Beverly's concerns along with our own questions over to TxDOT.
One of those being, was the driver drug tested after the crash? The crash report implies no testing was done.
Alcohol Specimen was labeled as "none" and the Alcohol Results were left blank.
The drug specimen was labeled as "none" and drug result labeled as "not applicable."
Once we know more, we’ll have it for you on air and online.
