John McCarthy
By: Virgin Islands Free Press News Desk
ST. THOMAS — A St. Thomas motorist with a prior drunk driving arrest was taken into police custody Sunday night after causing a two-vehicle collision on Weymouth Rhymer Highway while recording a breath alcohol level more than triple the legal limit, court filings show.
Police placed Berson Blanchard under arrest following a head-on-style crash in the westbound lane near Tillett Gardens and Holy Family Catholic Church, according to a Probable Cause Fact Sheet filed Monday in the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands.
The incident marks Blanchard’s second DUI arrest in fifteen months.
🚗 Crash Debris Blocks Weymouth Rhymer Traffic
According to an affidavit authored by VIPD Officer C. Fraser, emergency dispatchers sent police to Weymouth Rhymer Highway at approximately 7:57 p.m. on Sunday, July 26, 2026, in response to a motor vehicle collision.
Upon arrival, officers discovered two damaged vehicles in the westbound lane traveling toward Four Winds Plaza. One vehicle was facing west toward Four Winds, while the second vehicle had come to rest facing east toward Holy Family Catholic Church.
Scattered vehicle debris obstructed the normal flow of traffic. Firefighters from the Lima Fire Station and EMT K. Clarke responded to the scene to direct traffic around the wreck.
The driver of the second vehicle, identified as Elissa Somersall Correa, and Blanchard both declined medical attention at the scene.
🧪 Open Alcohol Carton and Breathalyzer Test
While interviewing the drivers, Officer Fraser noted that Blanchard exhibited glossy, bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, and a strong odor of alcohol emanating from his person. When questioned, Blanchard denied consuming alcohol and stated he was not diabetic.
Investigators noted that at the time of his detainment, Blanchard was holding a 16.9-ounce carton of “Beatbox Blueberry Lemonade”—an alcoholic beverage containing 11.1% alcohol by volume—with less than half of the liquid remaining inside.
Blanchard declined to provide a statement regarding the crash and was secured in patrol unit PD-299. He was transported to the Richard N. Callwood Command, where Traffic Investigation Bureau Officer Q. Francis requested he perform Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs).
According to police records:
- Blanchard refused the Walk-and-Turn test.
- Blanchard refused the One-Leg Stand test.
- Blanchard refused the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test.
Blanchard subsequently consented to a preliminary breath test, which registered a Breath Alcohol Concentration (BrAC) of 0.244%—more than three times the Virgin Islands legal threshold of 0.08%.
⚖️ Prior Arrest History & Pending Charges
Police records revealed that Blanchard made multiple references to officers about his prior law enforcement contacts, including a previous arrest for Driving Under the Influence on Sunday, April 13, 2025 (Case 25TP04692).
Additionally, statements gathered from firefighters on scene indicated Blanchard made no attempt to apologize or reconcile with Ms. Correa following the collision.
Officer Fraser submitted probable cause to charge Blanchard with:
- First-Degree Reckless Endangerment (14 V.I.C. § 625(a))
- Second-Degree Reckless Endangerment (14 V.I.C. § 625(b))
- Driving Under the Influence of an Intoxicating Substance (20 V.I.C. § 493(a)(1))
Blanchard was booked and transferred to the Bureau of Corrections at Golden Grove/Citadel pending his Advice of Rights hearing on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, in Superior Court.
