Fire captain sees crash, helps victim

Karen Zekan

Monday, March 2, 1998 | 10:12 a.m.

A 35-year-old man remained hospitalized in extremely critical condition after rolling his car more than 12 times in the desert off Blue Diamond Road.

The victim, whose name was not released, suffered life-threatening head injuries after the accident about 3 p.m. Sunday while eastbound on State Route 160 at mile marker 16 near the Blue Diamond Road-Mountain Springs split, said Steve La-Sky, Clark County Fire Department spokesman.

Clark County Fire Capt. Paul Young also was driving on the same road and witnessed the crash, ironically while talking on his cellular phone with La-Sky.

"Paul said he was driving about 65 (mph) and the rolling car was keeping up with his car," La-Sky said. "It rolled about 12 to 15 times. The car was so mangled, you couldn't even tell its (make and model)."

"I'm lucky he didn't hit me," said Young, who at the time was hauling his sand buggy on a trailer behind his truck after a trip in the desert.

"The first thing I noticed were rocks hitting my truck. He must have been right behind me when he left the road. It looked like he was traveling at a high rate of speed and couldn't negotiate the turn. The road turned left and he kept going right."

Young was the first to reach the victim, who landed in a hole beneath cactus after being thrown from the vehicle.

"He was face down in the dirt, unconscious and he wasn't breathing," Young said.

A paramedic for 20 years, Young rolled the victim over and lifted him out of the hole. He performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and chest compressions for about 20 minutes before medical support arrived.

Paramedics transported the injured man via Flight-for-Life helicopter to University Medical Center where he remained on life support Sunday evening.

"The victim's injuries were extremely critical," La-Sky said, "but Paul's help may have helped keep that man alive."

La-Sky said the victim had moved to Las Vegas five weeks ago from Florida.