Officer Responding to Traffic Accident is Struck During Hit-and-Run by Oncoming Vehicle and Sustains Broken Leg; Suspect Escapes

ST. CROIX — A V.I.P.D. officer who was responding to a traffic accident Saturday night was struck by an oncoming pickup truck, with the impact of the hit-and-run sending the officer 85 feet away and leaving him with a broken leg.

According to V.I.P.D. Director of Communications Glen Dratte, the police department's Traffic Investigation Bureau dispatched officers at about 11:19 p.m. to the Queen Mary Highway in the vicinity of the St. Croix Educational Complex to investigate the incident.

Upon officers' arrival to the scene, they conducted a preliminary investigation which revealed that officers from the Wilbur Francis Command Police Station had just arrived in the area to investigate a two-vehicle automobile collision.

According to the V.I.P.D., the officers had their marked police unit at a stop in the roadway with the blue lights flashing to slow down the traffic and make the scene safe to begin the investigation. However, while one of the officers was directing motorists to slow down as they approach the collision area, this officer observed a red pickup truck heading eastbound toward him at a high rate of speed.