A St. Thomas police lieutenant and an agent of the Narcotics Strike Force were injured when the vehicles they were driving collided head-on at 4 a.m. Saturday near the New Herrnhut Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Territorial Police Chief Jose Garcia said Sunday that a taxi operated by Ramon Ortiz was heading east in the westbound lane when it struck another vehicle driven by Walter Freeman.
Ortiz, a lieutenant assigned to the Zone C Command, was found to be negligent for driving in the wrong lane. Ortiz was reported to be on annual leave, and therefore off-duty at the time of the accident.
Freeman is an agent of the NSF. The vehicle he was operating reportedly was an unmarked vehicle assigned to the NSF.
Garcia’s press statement, issued Sunday night, did not mention that the drivers were both law enforcement officers.
Ortiz was hospitalized for observation after being treated for multiple injuries and fractured ribs. Freeman was treated for minor injuries to the head and released.
