KINGSHILL — A vehicle crash on St. Croix has left a 70-year-old driver clinging to life with horrifying injuries, authorities said.
The incident occurred at around 11:58 a.m. June 8, when 911 received a call about a one-car crash with major injuries on the southern shoulder of the westbound lane in the area of William D. Roebuck Industrial Park, VIPD Communications Director Glen Dratte said.
When officers arrived, members of the Virgin Islands Fire and Emergency Medical Services informed them that the victim “was in the driver’s seat of the vehicle, with a galvanize pipe protruding out of his face,” according to a news release.
The driver was transported to Luis Hospital for treatment, and subsequently flown to the mainland for surgery “with the four feet of pipe that is left in his face,” according to police.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that the victim was traveling on Highway Route 66 in the right lane at a high rate of speed,” according to police.
“The evidence along with eyewitness statements indicated that the victim lost control of his vehicle, struck the guardrail then veered left onto the southern shoulder of the westbound lane, then went up the embankment and hitting a concrete box and going airborne and coming to rest in the bushes,” police said.
The victim was wearing his safety belt in accordance with the law. “However, during the crash a galvanized pipe entered through the windshield and lodged into his face,” according to police.
Dratte said the crash remains under investigation.