A married couple were seriously injured after a car ploughed into their tent at the weekend.

Seventh-day Adventist Chaplain Kevin Santucci — a relative of the injured couple — last night said it was “a tragedy” for his family.

He said: “We are totally stunned by this tragedy. But we know they are in good hands — people have come in to take care of their medical needs.”

Rev Santucci — who declined to name the couple — was speaking after the 52-year-old man and his 44-year-old wife were seriously injured after a car left the road and hit the tent they were sleeping in, which was pitched on Kindley Field Rd in St George’s over the Cup Match weekend.

The couple were rushed to the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital after the crash, which happened around 6am on Saturday,

Rev Santucci said: “We are stunned at how it happened. We feel sorry for everyone involved — his family, our family, the Church family and the community.”

He added: “We are a community-based people — Bermuda above any nation I’ve travelled in is community- based.

“The support we have had has been great from all areas and we’re praying and asking the Lord to bring sense out of this terrible circumstance.”

Rev Santucci said he rushed to the hospital to comfort the family as soon as he was told of the incident.

He added: “Everybody needed comfort there.”

And he added that hospital chaplains — whatever their faith — had rallied round to help the family.

Police yesterday described the couple’s injuries as “serious but not life threatening” and added the 19-year-old driver of a car had been arrested on suspicion of drink driving.

Rev Santucci said the couple’s injuries could have been much worse — or even fatal — if the car had not hit a van and slowed before hitting the couple’s tent.

He added: “It’s only by God’s grace that the people inside the tent are still living — that’s a miracle in itself.”

And he praised the work of paramedics at the scene and the hospital’s emergency room staff.

Rev Santucci said: “Because of that fine job, we have two people who are still living.”

He added: “It would be good if we just pause for a moment — and I wouldn’t want to point fingers at anyone — but it’s important to reflect on this moment as a nation and ask what we can do to help. Accidents are accidents — and accidents are avoidable.”

The incident was the most serious of a string of accidents over the weekend.

At around 11.30pm on Saturday, emergency services attended the scene of a collision between a motorcycle and a taxi on Parsons Road near Deep Dale West.

“It appears that the taxi was travelling west on Parsons Road and the cyclist was travelling east when the female rider lost control of cycle and collided with the taxi,” the police spokesman said yesterday.

“The female on the cycle is currently in ICU with leg, internal and facial injuries, the taxi driver received cuts and abrasions to his leg and one of the passengers in the taxi received cuts to her leg.”

The collisions came just a dayafter an 18-year-old man crashed into a stone wall on Middle Road in Southampton near Granaway Heights Road.

The teenager, who was found unconscious at the scene by emergency personnel, was rushed to hospital with what were described as “life threatening injuries”. However, as of Saturday morning his condition had improved and it was expected that he will make a full recovery.

Anyone with information about any of the collisions is urged to contact the Police at 295-0011.

The Royal Gazette received word of other crashes which took place over the weekend, including an SUV which overturned on Thursday night.

According to an area resident, the vehicle was travelling along St John’s Road at around 10.45pm when it left the road, rolling upside down near Tulo Valley.

No one was believed to be injured in the incident. Several agencies, including the Bermuda Police Service, CADA and the Bermuda Road Safety Council had called on the public to be responsible on the Island’s roads in advance of the holiday, noting that eight people have already died in traffic collisions this year.