VIDALIA — A Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office deputy is recovering in a Baton Rouge hospital following a late Monday automobile accident.

Deputies Roger McDonald Sr. and Tim Neal were transporting a prisoner from Shreveport to Concordia Parish at the time of the accident, which happened during a time of adverse weather conditions, CPSO Chief Deputy David Hedrick said.

Hedrick said the accident happened near the intersection of U.S. 84 and Louisiana 28 outside Jonesville.

“The weather conditions got so bad, before they could pull over they ran through a stop sign,” Hedrick said.

“It was coming down really hard, and by the time they realized they had missed the sign it was too late.”

The vehicle came to a stop on the other side of the roadway, Hedrick said.

McDonald was injured in the crash and was transported to Riverland Medical Center before he was transferred to Our Lady of the Lake in Baton Rouge for further treatment.

McDonald’s son, Roger McDonald Jr., said his father fractured two vertebrae in his back.

“We assumed there would be paralysis,” McDonald Jr. said. “But we spoke to the trauma emergency room and they said they did not see any signs of enflamed spinal tissue or nerve damage — the only injuries they found were the breaks themselves.”

McDonald Sr. is in pain but doing well, McDonald Jr., said, and should not have to have surgery.

“He is upset because he is on bed rest and he wants to be walking around,” McDonald Jr. said.

The McDonald family is thankful for all of the interest and sympathy people have expressed since the wreck, he said.

“In situations like this the line between friend and family tend to blur as everybody reaches out to you,” McDonald Jr. said.

Neal — who was driving —did not receive serious injuries, and the vehicle suffered only minor damage, Hedrick said. The inmate was uninjured.

“The sheriff’s office is very thankful that the others were not injured, and our prayers are with the McDonald family,” Hedrick said.

“Both officers are exemplary deputies and do a good job for us.”

The Louisiana State Police are investigating the matter, Hedrick said.

An LSP spokesman did not return a phone message Wednesday afternoon.