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Heatstroke van death may lead to charges

17 January 2009 - The security officers in control of the prison van in which an Aboriginal elder died of heatstroke while being transported through the Goldfields should be charged if they are found to have been negligent, Aboriginal leaders said.

Labor MP Ben Wyatt, Aboriginal Legal Service chief executive Dennis Eggington and Curtin University Professor Ted Wilkes said they were appalled Mr Ward had died after collapsing in the back of a prison van in searing heat and claimed the officers responsible for him should be held accountable.

They said this week that the family of the father-of-five also deserved significant compensation if an inquest into his death in March finds that he died as a result of negligence by the officers.

Relatives of the 46-year-old Warburton man confirmed on Tuesday that a senior policeman and a Kalgoorlie court clerk had told them the cause of the father of five’s death.

His family had to wait almost a year for the news after an exhaustive police investigation into the death of Mr Ward, who collapsed while being transferred from Laverton to Kalgoorlie on January 27 in near-40C heat. He died in Kalgoorlie Hospital.

It has not been revealed whether the air-conditioning was working in the back of the van. The two officers from private transport contractor GSL were able to monitor Mr Ward via a television screen in the front cabin linked to a video camera in the sealed rear compartment.

Mr Wyatt said that if the GSL officers had been found to have not carried out their duty of care then he would advise the family to seek compensation from the company and the State.

Mr Eggington agreed and said the actions of the officers needed to be heavily scrutinised and an appropriate penalty handed to them if they were found to be negligent.

The GSL officers found Mr Ward unconscious and covered in vomit but breathing and decided to drive to the hospital rather than try to treat him at the roadside. The van arrived at the hospital about 3.20pm and Mr Ward was pronounced dead about 4.40pm.

RONAN O’CONNELL

Source: thewest.com.au

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