Police on St. Thomas who were dispatched to a reported auto accident Sunday evening found instead that they were investigating a homicide, according to a news release from the V.I. Police Department.
Police were dispatched to the scene of an accident that had occurred at about 11:22 p.m. Sunday on Silke Gade in Estate Savan. Arriving on the scene within minutes, they observed that the driver of the vehicle involved had been shot at least once to his upper body, according to the release.
Emergency Medical Technicians on the scene could not detect any vital signs on the victim.
Late Tuesday police identified the victim as 27-year-old Neal Sprauve Jr. of Estate Bordeaux, St. Thomas.
According to the initial report, a green Mazda Protégé driven by Sprauve was traveling east on Silke Gade when he was apparently shot. He then lost control of the car, which collided into two parked vehicles.
The Criminal Investigation Bureau detectives are following up on this case. Anyone with information is asked to call detectives at 715-5522 or 714-9834, or the anonymous tip-reporting service, Crime Stoppers, at 1-800-222-TIPS.
Sunday’s murder was the fifth reported homicide in the territory since the start of the new year, the second on St. Thomas.
Editor’s note: This story was updated to include the name of the victim, which had not been released earlier by the police.
