This was posted at VIOL Forum

This is a story from my home town (Asbury Park, NJ) paper:

"A holiday cruise in the U.S. Virgin Islands turned into a brush with death for two Manalapan families, as a utility truck plowed into the safari taxi they were passengers on, sparking a five-vehicle crash that sent 29 people to the hospital, police in St. Thomas said.

Manalapan residents Vincent Adamkiewicz, a Perth Amboy firefighter and his wife, Tracy, a Middlesex County probation officer, were among the people hurt in the crash on Wednesday. Vincent remained in a Miami Hospital in stable condition on Monday with three skull fractures and several broken ribs, said Ernest Villany, a family friend.

Another Manalapan family, Judy Barcheski, her son Christopher, 14, and daughter, Lauren, 11, suffered minor injuries in the crash. They had been traveling with the Adamkiewiczs.

"We were lucky. We had just come back from snorkeling at Meghan's Bay when we were rear-ended by this utility truck," Judy Barcheski said. "There was no squealing of brakes. Nothing. I never saw it coming."

Vincent Adamkiewicz required 80 stitches to close his wounds. His wife was treated and released for a leg injury received when she was briefly pinned under one of the taxi seats, Villany said.

Island investigators believe the brakes may have failed on the Water and Power Authority truck, causing it to careen down a road and slam into the rear of the safari taxi, a Ford F-450 converted to passenger transport, the police said.

From there, the utility company bucket truck barreled into a van, wedging it underneath the heavy truck frame before flipping onto a smaller pickup, said police spokeswoman Monyka Johnighan in St. Thomas.

In all, five ambulances carried the more serious of the injured to the hospital and two Superior Court Marshal's vans were employed to transport the rest of the injured to the RLS Regional Medical Center in St. Thomas, a police statement said. No deaths from the crash were reported."

"In all, five ambulances carried the more serious of the injured to the hospital ..."

I don't think we have five ambulances. Perhaps it was the same ambulance or two returning repeatedly. Fortunately the injured all seem to be healing well.

dnt: I will check,but there is a private ambulance company as well as the EMS service. There may well be 5 vehicles.

If I understand the posts correctly - there is still one person hospitalized.

Lets keep them in our prayers 🙂

Jen

Hey EE.

I'm surprised but happy to learn something new!

The person who was airlifted to FL would be the only one still in the hospital. No one here in the VI.