Child hit by car to have brain surgery

Friday, May 7, 2004 | 11:20 a.m.

A North Las Vegas third-grader who was hit by a speeding car Wednesday was scheduled to undergo brain surgery this morning and remains in critical condition at the University Medical Center, police said.

Eight-year-old Justine Steffee was in a coma, on a ventilator, and remains in critical condition, North Las Vegas Police Officer spokesman Tim Bedwell said, noting he talked with the girl's mother, Nicole Steffee, this morning.

The child, a student at Elizabeth Wilhelm Elementary School, was struck while riding her bike from a friend's house after school, Bedwell said.

The driver of the car that hit her, 29-year-old Kimberly Bunch, has not been charged pending the results of a blood alcohol test. Bedwell said a rush order was placed on the blood examination with the results expected back early next week.

Bunch was driving northbound on Revere Street at at least 60 mph when she hit Steffee, who was traveling with the flow of westbound traffic while crossing the street on her bicycle at Craig Creek, police said.

The speed limit there is 35 mph.

Bedwell said, according to witness accounts, early indications are Steffee did not stop at the stop sign at Craig Creek. However, Bedwell, said evidence at the scene indicates the automobile could have veered to miss the slow-moving child.

Nevada law treats bicyclists the same as automobiles when operating on roadways.

"The law is the same in many states regarding bicycles," Bedwell said, noting the reason for that is to keep bicycles off the sidewalks which are reserved for pedestrians and to have bicycles flow properly with street traffic.

Since January of 2003 in North Las Vegas Police jurisdiction there have been seven auto-pedestrian fatalities and no auto-bicycle deaths, Bedwell said.