ST. CROIX — The V.I.P.D. on Monday charged a man with two counts of negligent homicide in connection with a vehicular accident on Rattan Road on February 8 that left two men dead, V.I.P.D. Public Information Officer Glen Dratte has announced.
The man, 60-year-old Ivan Hansen, told police that he stopped at the intersection on Rattan Road when he saw a Jeep Wrangler coming at a high rate of speed. He also said that he then felt an impact to his vehicle and saw the Jeep hit a rusty, green tank causing it to fall, according to Mr. Dratte.
The deceased driver was identified as Marcus George Roy, 29. The passenger was identified as Quinton Lavell Thomas, 35. Both were contract workers at Limetree Bay from Texas, according to police.
Mr. Hansen was also charged with failing to yield right of way along with the negligent homicide charge. He has since made bail, which was set at $15,000.
The Feb. 8 accident
Emergency responders on the scene confirmed the details to The Consortium. The incident, which occurred after the 11:00 p.m. hour, included a Jeep Wrangler and a 90s Ford Explorer.
According to first responders, the Wrangler was heading east from west at a high rate of speed, hit the Ford Explorer and crashed into an old green tank, killing both driver and passenger. Details as to how the Wrangler wound up hitting the Explorer were sketchy at the time.
First responders, among them the Virgin Islands Fire Service, the V.I.P.D., Emergency Medical Technicians and St. Croix Rescue worked together to remove the deceased from the Wrangler, whose bodies were transported to the morgue at the Juan F. Luis Hospital. The driver of the Explorer was unharmed.
Though the victims had yet to be identified at time, they were black males with Texas IDs, who had either served or were currently serving in the military, according to a first responder who had seen the IDs.
When The Consortium arrived on the scene, V.I.P.D., Fire Service and St. Croix Rescue personnel were still on location.
While the Ford Explorer sustained damage from the impact, it was the Jeep Wrangler that was mangled by the accident, as it crashed into an old green tank that had become a landmark of sorts for that area of the Rattan Road.
Tags: Ivan Hansen, Marcus George Roy