Sept. 6, 2008 — After plowing through a stone wall on King Hill Road on St. John, a blue dump truck loaded with about 20 tons of rocks flipped over and landed about 30 feet down the hillside Friday.
"The driver and passenger were both slightly injured," V.I. National Park Superintendent Mark Hardgrove said Saturday.
Hardgrove said most of their injuries came when they scrambled up the hillside through dense brush to reach the road.
He did not know the name of the driver, the passenger or who owned the truck. He referred questions to the Police Department, but spokesmwoan Melody Rames said the department does not release names.
Rames said the Police Department's preliminary report indicates the truck suffered mechanical failure. She said the investigation into its cause continues.
According to Hardgrove, the driver indicated the rear springs on the truck broke, shifting the truck bed to one side and flipping the truck over. There were no skid marks on the road.
The accident demolished about 12 feet of stone wall along King Hill Road. The road connects Centerline Road and the North Shore Road.
The accident caused ripped trees and bush out of the ground. The smell of diesel fuel and oil lingered Saturday afternoon. Large dark patches showed where the diesel and oil flowed out of the dump truck.
Hardgrove said that land where the accident happened belongs to the Trust for Public Land, but that the park would work with the Trust to make sure the area is cleaned up. John Garrison, who heads the Trust's Southwest Florida field office, could not be reached at home Saturday.
The full extent of the environmental damage won't be known until the truck is removed, Hardgrove said.
The truck's front axle was torn off and the cab was damaged.
A crane was expected to arrive from St. Thomas to pull the truck up the hill but had not yet arrived as of late Saturday afternoon. Hardgrove also said a V.I. Fire Service truck would be at the scene because removing the truck posed a fire hazard.
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