A 34-year-old Florida woman, Tena Dudley, died Sunday after she flew out of the back seat of a 2006 Jeep Wrangler as it tumbled 300 feet down the hillside on Centerline Road near the V.I. National Park’s Reef Bay Trail.
The driver of the vehicle, William Dabey, 45, was arrested on vehicular homicide charges. Police said in a news release that the resident of Estate Glucksberg, St. John, was "driving under the influence of alcohol" and had been at a St. John bar before the accident.
The accident happened around 3 a.m. Sunday.
"She was in a soft-topped rental car that flipped, maybe more than once," said park Superintendent Mark Hardgrove.
Dabey lost control of the vehicle, according to the release. Police Department spokeswoman Melody Rames said Dabey received minor scratches and bruises in the accident.
Police are looking for a second man who was a passenger in the car but walked away from the scene. Police asked that he call or come into the St. John police station.
An autopsy is scheduled for Dudley, the release said.
Dabey moved to St. John about a month ago and had a prior relationship with Dudley, said St. Thomas/St. John Traffic Commander Sgt. Rosalyn Jarvis. A background check on Dabey revealed he had several arrests in the states for drunk driving, she said.
This fatality comes just two days after the police department announced the beginning of the Drunk Driving Over the Limit Under Arrest Crackdown on impaired driving. The campaign began Aug. 21 and continues through the Labor Day holiday weekend.
"My message to the public on Friday was not to drink and drive," Jarvis said. “It’s a shame that this had to happen. I am again urging all drivers to find alternate methods of transportation after a night of partying. If you see someone who has been drinking, encourage them not to drive. If you know you have served an individual several drinks, encourage them not to drive. And by all means, never get into a vehicle with a drunk driver: The life you save may be your own."
When park rangers went down the hillside to investigate the accident, they found a couple of other cars that apparently went off the road near the same location, Hardgrove said.
Rangers removed the battery from the car to protect the environment, but Hardgrove said it did not appear that the car was leaking any fluids.
Hardgrove also said that park rangers responded Sunday when a 59-year-old woman died of apparent natural causes at Maho Bay Beach. No further information was available.
