TDCJ prisoner transport bus catches fire near Centerville
CENTERVILLE, Texas (KBTX) – The Texas Department of Criminal Justice is looking into why an inmate transport bus went up in flames Tuesday morning on Interstate 45 in Leon County.
According to a TDCJ spokesperson, 25 inmates were on board the bus at the time of the fire. Everyone was able to safely exit the bus before Centerville firefighters arrived on the scene.
Multiple law enforcement officers from the area also responded to the fire but at no point were any inmates not secure.
The incident understandably rattled some in the community, who are still coping with trauma from one of the deadliest prison escapes in Texas history that unfolded in their backyard.
In May 2022, convicted murderer Gonzalo Lopez escaped a transport bus just like the one that caught fire Tuesday and later murdered five people at a nearby home. Lopez was located the next month in an area south of San Antonio and killed by law enforcement.
