A St. Croix resident was arrested following a two-vehicle crash on Queen Mary Highway near Whim Shanty on Halloween night that left a visiting tourist's sedan spinning across the roadway.
Leopoldo Santibanez, driving a rented silver Nissan Versa, registered a blood alcohol content of.268 percent when tested at police headquarters. This exceeds the US Virgin Islands legal limit of.08 percent by more than three times, according to court documents filed in Superior Court.
The collision took place at approximately 7:43 p.m. on October 31 when Santibanez's vehicle crossed into the westbound lane of Queen Mary Highway and moved directly into the path of an eastbound car carrying five passengers. The eastbound driver veered hard onto the shoulder to prevent a head-on impact but heard a loud crash moments later. A silver Honda Accord traveling behind her, operated by a tourist scheduled to depart the island the next day, sustained heavy damage to its right side panels and bumper, with airbags deployed and the vehicle disabled.
When police arrived at the scene, Santibanez was sitting on a concrete slab smoking a cigarette. Officers noted he had a flushed face, watery eyes, slurred speech, and a strong smell of alcohol. After being asked to stand, he staggered, leaned on Lieutenant Marisol Colon for support, and then fell backward into brush while attempting to sit down.
Santibanez performed poorly on standardized field sobriety tests, swaying during the horizontal gaze nystagmus evaluation and abandoning the one-leg stand after losing his balance. He told officers he was heading home from the beach and had consumed four or five beers.
When asked for his driver's license and vehicle paperwork, Santibanez removed his wallet from his back pocket, returned it without providing the documents, and sat back down.
At the Ancilmo D. Marshall Command in Christiansted, Santibanez declined to sign a Miranda waiver but consented to chemical testing. Before the Intoximeter test, he stated "You have the wrong guy".
Santibanez faces three charges: driving under the influence of an intoxicating liquor, driving with a blood alcohol content of.08 percent or greater, and negligent driving. He appeared before Magistrate Judge Yolan Brow Ross on Monday for his advice of rights hearing. The judge set bail at $1,000, consisting of a $500 cash deposit and an unsecured signature bond. His formal arraignment is set for November 18, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. in Courtroom CR-103.
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