U.S. Coast Guard officials and Virgin Islands authorities continued Saturday to investigate the collision Friday night outside Cruz Bay, St. John, between the car barge Roanoke and the passenger ferry Caribe Tide.
St. John Administrator Julien Harley said 20 patients were treated at the Myrah Keating Smith Community Health Center, and four were brought to the Roy Schneider Hospital on St. Thomas.
"A potentially bad situation was lessened because of the quick community response," said Harley, who had high praise for members of St. John Rescue, doctors, nurses and nurse's assistants responding to the injured.
Personnel at the Roy L. Schneider Hospital on St. Thomas would not comment on the condition of the four casualties brought to the facility late Friday night.
Coast Guard Lt. José Quinones of the San Juan Marine Safety Detachment flew to St. Thomas Saturday to assist Lt. Kevin Smith of the local safety detachment in the investigation.
Urine samples from the two boat captains were collected Friday night, shortly after the accident, according to Ensign Meridena Kaufman of the San Juan Coast Guard command. It is routine to conduct post-accident chemical testing, she said.
Kaufman could not say when the test results would be available, nor when the ongoing investigation would be completed.
A release from the Coast Guard confirmed that "numerous passengers" were seriously injured in the near head-on collision between the two vessels at 7:15 p.m.
The Caribe Tide has been grounded by the Coast Guard due to substantial damage to the bow and will not be allowed back into commercial service until the repairs are made and a subsequent Coast Guard inspection finds the vessel seaworthy again.
Caribe Tide is owned by Transportation Services. The Roanoke, formerly known as the Tuglife, is owned by Stanley Hedrington of Global Marine.
This is the second incident in recent months involving a passenger ferry. On the night of Dec. 17, the Native Son Kat ran aground on the popular dive site known as Cow and Calf rocks on St. Thomas's East End. The captain at the time, Tilbert Lettsome, surrendered his license to the Coast Guard shortly after the incident.
Editor's note: For further details see article below, "Ferry and barge collide outside Cruz Bay."
