Scene of vehicular accident in Estate Nazareth on St. Thomas. By. THE VIRGIN ISLANDS POLICE DEPARTMENT
ST. THOMAS — A 19-year-old man succumbed to injuries sustained during a vehicular accident that occurred Sunday morning in Estate Nazareth, in the vicinity of the National Guard Armory, V.I.P.D. Public Information Officer Toby Derima has confirmed to the Consortium.
Identified by next of kin as Joseph Santana of Sugar Estate, St. Thomas, the victim lost control of the vehicle — a gray 2011 Toyota Corolla — and slammed into a WAPA utility pole, which led to the island-wide power outage during the wee hours of Sunday, WAPA has confirmed.
Police officers, alerted by the 911 emergency call center, arrived on the scene at about 1:27 a.m., only to find the vehicle in flames and the driver trapped inside, said Mr. Derima.
"With assistance from the Virgin Islands Fire Service, the flames were extinguished, and officers were able to remove the driver," Mr. Derima wrote in the V.I.P.D. release. "Once extricated from the vehicle, the driver was transported to Roy Lester Schneider Regional Medical Center via ambulance, where he later succumbed to his injuries."
The V.I.P.D. has initiated an investigation into the accident. Police are asking anyone with information of what occurred to call 911 or the Traffic Investigation Bureau at (340) 774-2211.
