An American couple have accused former Premier Dame Jennifer Smith of laughing at them and not offering assistance after an accident in which one of them suffered a broken collarbone.

Environmental consultant Ronald Carvalho and his wife Cuc Luong have vowed to pursue their case and are appealing for witnesses to the incident to come forward.

And they expressed unhappiness at the Bermuda Police Service's handling of the investigation, saying officers had even suggested they were lying.

The Cranford, New Jersey couple claim they were forced to spend the remainder of their holiday chasing Police officers to make a statement about the accident ? only to be accused of skidding into the Island's newest Dame and causing the collision.

The Carvalhos say they were leaving Tobacco Bay slowly on a livery cycle when a silver coloured convertible appeared.

Mr. Carvalho ? an experienced motorcyclist who rides a Harley Davidson regularly ? tried to pull over to avoid the car which was heading down a hill towards the beach but it was too late.

Mr. Carvalho suffered a broken collarbone while Ms Luong skin cuts and bruising.

When contacted by Dame Jennifer ? whom the couple claimed was driving the car ? said: "I believe there will be a court case on the matter and I have no comment."

A Police spokesman yesterday confirmed the report of an accident on the Tobacco Bay in the area of Naval Tanks Hill in St. George's at 6 p.m. on Saturday, August 13.

But the spokesman refused to comment when asked if Dame Jennifer was involved in the accident or to confirm the type of car involved.

"Details are very sketchy, however it appears that the rider and a pillion passenger were travelling west on Tobacco Bay Road when the collision occurred," the spokesman said in a written statement.

"The rider was taken to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital where he was treated and released for a broken collar bone. A full investigation into the events of the collision is underway."

The Police said the incident had "come under considerable scrutiny" and the Police would be carrying out a full investigation.

"The car was heading right for me, I cut the wheels to the left. I braked and skidded and came to a stop but the car ran right into me and knocked me and my wife off the bike," he said.

"I was lying on the ground screaming, I thought my neck had been broken.

"The car stopped but the people in the car, the man and the woman, never got out of the car to offer any help ? although they saw us lying there.

"The lady in the car was laughing and giggling ? she said: 'You're not hurt that bad, it's your fault anyway'," claimed Mr. Carvalho.

"I could understand if this was some kind of person who is a street derelict. But we later learned she is an elected official who represents Bermuda.

"I could not believe that we have an elected public official laughing at a tourist in pain on the ground who is bringing money to her country ? is that the kind of people the Bermudians elect?"

The man travelling with Dame Jennifer also did not offer any assistance, said Mr. Carvalho, and he said other beach-goers helped them through the shock of the accident after rushing to their assistance with towels and ice.

He maintained he was driving at ten mph while the convertible Dame Jennifer was driving was travelling at about 25 mph.

"The people on the beach ran up with ice, they heard us calling for help," he said. "They held our hands and waited with us and reassured us that everything would be all right.

"When the Police got there, the man walked over to us and expressed some kind of superficial concern, but the woman never got out of the car the whole time."

Ms Luong said she was afraid her husband was seriously injured and in the shock of the accident, she was screaming for help.

"I was saying 'God! Please I cannot move', I thought my husband would be paralysed but they were laughing and talking to one another," she said.

"They were looking at the scratches on the car ? on the right hand side of the car. I didn't know who she was but now that I know I feel absolutely disgusted."

The couple said they contacted by Police while in hospital.

According to Mr. Carvalho, the Police did not call them the following day at their hotel about the accident and they had to make a call themselves to the St. George's Police Station to make inquiries.

He said they were told by a P.s. Furbert to come to St. George's Police Station to make their statement despite their injuries.

Mr. Carvalho said the officer told him upon his arrival: "Oh, so you're the ones who hit the ex-Premier.

"I thought: 'You weren't there, you didn't take the report or document anything at the scene!' I thought Police Officers were supposed to be objective."

Ms Luong, who is originally from Vietnam, said her statement did not reflect her words that day and she was left without her husband in another room to explain herself to the officer.

"She (the officer) kept repeating: 'Oh, so you skidded under her car, right?', I said: 'No, we were not skidding'," she added. "I kept saying, 'why are you not writing what I am saying?' but she said: 'I have to write it in the Bermuda Police style'."

Mr. Carvalho said he could not get a typed copy of his statement because he was told there was no fax machine at the station to send it to him.

Despite the "bad taste" left in his mouth over the incident, Mr. Carvalho said he has enough faith in Bermuda's legal system to sort out the situation and he would return to deal with the matter if necessary.

Asked if he would come back to the Island to vacation, Mr. Carvalho said he is unsure, but his wife said she would never set foot in Bermuda again.

"When I landed by the airport, I said to my husband what a beautiful country, the water is so blue, even the airport was so beautiful, we loved it so much but now it's just disgusting, I don't like anything about it, I don't want to come back.

"I even sent postcards to my family saying to come here but now no one wants to come to Bermuda after seeing us being hurt like this and not protected at all."

Mr. Carvalho and his wife wanted to thank the local people who offered assistance that day, particularly a couple who were on the beach who stayed with them until the ambulance arrived.

"I can't thank them enough, this couple was so nice, the lady held ice to our wounds, I would like to say a big thank you to all the folks who helped us that day," said Ms Luong.

Mr. Carvalho said if anyone has any information or witnessed the accident to contact him.

"We are working to find a lawyer to help us, we really want to know what our rights are, does she have a right not to report anything?" he asked.