THE two American cruise passengers injured after the moped they were driving hit a pothole on the Eastern Road by Montagu on Monday have returned home bandaged and bruised, disappointed but in good spirits.

The couple - who have three children and live in Denver, Colorado - were on their first visit to The Bahamas and had their seven-day cruise cut short when their moped hit two potholes, causing them to lose control and crash. They were making their way back to their Royal Caribbean cruise ship, as they were scheduled to board at 1.30pm, but suffered cuts and abrasions from the fall.

A driver who witnessed the crash said: “As soon as I came around the curve I saw them, seems like they hit the pothole, then they started swerving on the road and then came a few feet up, hit the sidewalk. After that they both fell and both ended up with a number of injuries. The lady had a big gash at the bottom of her foot. She had a lot of scrapes about the body. Her husband had the same, not as bad as she was – at least he could move around, but he had gashes on his knee and scrapes about his body.”

The Tribune was told the couple could not continue the cruise because they needed stitches but there was dirt in the wounds so had to leave the boat and fly home.

The potholes have been repaired since the accident.