Nov. 21, 2007 -- A V.I. Water and Power Authority bucket truck collided with a loaded safari bus and several other vehicles on Mafolie Road on St. Thomas Wednesday, sending 29 people to Schneider Regional Medical Center.
As of 8 p.m., 15 of the patients had already been discharged, said hospital
spokesman Sam Topp. He added that one patient, who suffered a fracture to the skull, had been admitted to the hospital's intensive-care unit. This individual will be flown to an intensive-care facility in Florida, according to a police news release. Another patient is being held on 24-hour observation at the hospital as a "precautionary measure," Topp said.
"At this hour, it is anticipated that most, if not all, of the remainder of the patients will continue to be discharged," Topp said. "We are continuing the evaluations, but our medical director and chief of surgery have indicated their optimism that we will be discharging more people throughout the evening."
Earlier Wednesday afternoon, Police Commissioner James H. McCall said the safari bus was carrying 22 people. All were taken to the hospital, along with the three WAPA linemen in the bucket truck and four private citizens.

The bucket truck was returning from a job in the Bonne Resolution area and was traveling down Mafolie Road when its brakes started to malfunction, said WAPA spokeswoman Cassandra Dunn. The truck hit the safari bus -- loaded with passengers from the cruise ship Carnival Valor -- from the back, and tipped over on its side, crushing a red pickup truck and hitting a smaller white vehicle.
The incident occurred around 3 p.m. between the J. Antonio Jarvis School and the Lionel Roberts Stadium in Charlotte Amalie.
Several emergency workers responded quickly to the scene and assisted in transporting people to the hospital, McCall said. The bucket truck has been taken into police custody for further investigation.
The Source will provide more details on the incident as information becomes available.
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