An ambulance at the Juan F. Luis Hospital. By. V.I. CONSORTIUM
ST. CROIX — A motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the Juan F. Luis Hospital Tuesday night following a two-vehicle accident in the vicinity of Kmart West, the V.I. Police Department has announced.
On Tuesday at approximately 7:06 p.m., the Traffic Investigation Bureau was notified by the Virgin Islands Emergency Management Agency to travel Queen Mary Highway Route 70 in the vicinity of the retail outlet to investigate the accident.
The V.I.P.D.'s preliminary investigation revealed that the collision occurred on Queen Mary Highway in the intersection north of Kmart West. The vehicles involved were a Jeep Wrangler Sahara and a Suzuki GSX motorcycle. The operator of the Jeep was exiting from the Kmart parking lot, south to north, and heading eastbound while the operator of the motorcycle was heading westbound, according to the police department.
As the Jeep began to turn eastbound into the eastbound lane, the motorcycle, which was heading westbound struck the Jeep on the front right fender. The operator of the motorcycle fell onto the roadway in the intersection while his motorcycle fell and skidded approximately 197 feet from the area of impact into the westbound lane. After the sudden impact, the Jeep stopped partially in the eastbound lane.
The operator of the motorcycle was taken to the Juan F. Luis Hospital via ambulance to receive immediate medical treatment. The driver nor the passenger in the Jeep sustained any injuries, according to police.
The deceased victim was identified as 23-year-old Zioney Ruiz’s, whose death was caused by multiple blunt force trauma to the body and head, according to the attending JFL Emergency Room physician, the V.I.P.D. said. Ruiz died at about 9:57 p.m. Tuesday.
