SAIPAN — Lieutenant Governor Dennis James C. Mendiola said Friday he walked away from Thursday night’s crash in As Lito with only bruising to his chest and shoulder, while the Department of Public Safety confirmed neither speed nor alcohol was a factor and no citations were issued.
“I’m good, actually,” Mendiola said, speaking by phone on Good Morning Marianas. “Just minor pain on my chest and shoulders. But other than that, I’m good. I’m up and out and about.”
Mendiola said he was driving home from the gym between about 6:30 and 7 p.m. when he reached for his drink along the sharp curve near GPPC on Tun Kyoshi Kileleman Road. “I kind of veered off, hit the telephone pole on the left-hand side,” he said.
He corrected the initial DPS incident summary, which described damage to the left front passenger side of the vehicle. “That was wrong. It’s the left driver’s side,” he said.
Mendiola said he remained conscious and spoke with responders, who transported him to the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation as a precaution. X-rays showed no broken bones and no collapsed lung, and he was released at about 9:30 p.m. with medication. He was driving a brown Nissan Frontier, which struck a concrete pole. He said he believes the truck can be repaired.
He credited his seatbelt with protecting him, saying the belt across his chest caused the bruising. The airbag did not deploy. “That’s how we know I wasn’t driving fast,” he said, estimating his speed at 30 to 35 mph.
Mendiola described the curve as hazardous, saying the pavement has become wavy from heavy equipment traffic serving GPPC and from heat expansion. “That road is really bad,” he said. “I hope people are not trying to fly through that, because I was going roughly 30, 35 miles an hour, and even at that it got really dangerous quick for me.”
Mendiola said he had sent his security detail home before the drive. “This is just proving how important and vital our PSDs are,” he said. “Last night would have been a different story had I had one of them driving for me.”
Responding to viewer questions, DPS told NMI News Service that speed and alcohol were not factors and that no tickets were issued. DPS said it had no photos of the crash; images circulating on social media appear to have come from people at or near the scene.
Mendiola, an Army veteran, said he hopes to be back on the golf course Sunday. “I tell the boys army strong,” he said.
