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15 prisoners injured after Phoenix-area police van crashes

Officials say 17 people, including the driver, were aboard the van at the time of the accident on U.S. 60 near the Loop 101

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The westbound land is closed and the eastbound lane is backed up as fire and police crews work to remove the driver from a wrecked police transport, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015, in Mesa, Ariz.

AP Photo/Matt York

Associated Press

MESA, Ariz. — Authorities say a police transport van crashed into another vehicle on a suburban Phoenix freeway, injuring 15 prisoners.

Mesa Fire Department officials say six inmates suffered serious injuries in the crash that happened around noon Wednesday. The rest are being treated for minor to moderate injuries.

Officials say 17 people, including the driver, were aboard the van at the time of the accident on U.S. 60 near the Loop 101.

Rescue crews from two cities are at the scene treating the victims. Television footage shows the van collided with a construction company’s flatbed truck. Some of the prisoners are being taken from the van on stretchers.

Fire officials say the cause of the crash isn’t immediately clear, but it shut down the westbound lanes of the freeway.

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