A former security guard has told how she is haunted by the image of a West Australian Aboriginal elder whose horrific death from heat stroke led to her losing her job.

Nina Stokoe, one of two guards in charge of transporting the man when he died of heat stroke after being driven 360km in the back of aprison van, also accused authorities of providing inadequate vehicles for the transport of prisoners.

Mr Ward, whose first name cannot be released for cultural reasons, died after suffering through temperatures of 50C in the un-airconditioned pod of a van during the four hour journey between Laverton and Kalgoorlie on January 27 last year.

He was being taken to Kalgoorlie to face charges of drink-driving.

WA Coroner Alastair Hope, who said in his findings that Mr Ward had suffered "inhumane treatment", has asked the Director of Public Prosecutions to consider laying charges over the incident.

Mr Hope found Ms Stokoe and fellow guard Graham Powell, their employer Global Solutions (since acquired by security giant G4S) and the Department of Corrective Services had all contributed to Mr Ward's "terrible death".

Ms Stokoe has broken her silence in an interview with the Nine Network, saying she is distraught over Mr Ward's death.

In excerpts aired on Fairfax radio today, Ms Stokoe broke down while offering an apology to Mr Ward's family.

"I am very sorry that it's happened and I can understand how they feel," she said.

"I only wish that it never happened and that he was still around.

"I am so sorry that it happened.

"Mr Ward will always be on my mind, always, he will never go away.

"He is with me forever now ... he's on my conscience.

"He is there when I go to bed at night. He is there when I close my eyes, he's there.

"I still see him in the back of the van."

Ms Stokoe lost her job with G4S last week after the company claimed she and Mr Powell had failed to follow directions to check on prisoners every two hours.

The WA Department of Corrective Services had earlier withdrawn the work permits of both guards.

Mr Stokoe said guards endured terrible conditions in the vans supplied by authorities, but said they were afraid of complaining in case they lost their shifts.

She accepted her part in Mr Ward's death, but said the prison vans were "untrustworthy".

"(We've) probably been scapegoats, but at the end of the day we were the ones that were driving the vehicle," she said.

"We had no choice what vehicle to drive.

"At the end of the day, every day in Kalgoorlie when we drove out to pick up prisoners it's pot luck.

"There's many times we have been sat by the side of the road broken down.

"Sometimes 15, 20 odd hours those vehicles have been stuck out in the middle of nowhere, broken down, with prisoners on board and without prisoners on board.

"Those vehicles were untrustworthy."

The Nine Network interviewer said Ms Stokoe had sought to explain why she and Mr Powell had not stopped to check on Mr Ward.

She had said Mr Ward did not knock on the walls of the van, as he would have been expected to do if he was in distress.

Guards were also wary of opening the rear doors of prison vans for fear of prisoners escaping, she said.

AAP