Monday, Sept. 27, 2004 | 10:56 a.m.
Three children and a Las Vegas man were killed in traffic accidents across the Las Vegas Valley in the last several days, authorities said.
A 5-year-old girl and her cousin died after a rollover accident as they and their family were traveling from California to Las Vegas for a wedding, Nevada Highway Patrol troopers said.
The family was northbound on Interstate 15 near Sloan about 11 a.m. Friday when a tire blew out on their Chevrolet Suburban, Trooper Angie Chavera said. The driver overcorrected, hit his brakes, sent the car into a skid and went off the road, Chavera said.
The girl and her young cousin were not wearing seatbelts and were thrown from the car, Chavera said. They were pronounced dead in the desert. Three women, the male driver, and a 17-year-old man were taken to University Medical Center.
The trooper said the deaths were preventable.
"If you get a blowout, do not overreact and (do not) slam on your brakes," Chavera said. "And wear your seat belt. These people did not need to die out here if they would have had their seat belts on."
A seat belt failed to save 7-year-old Debra Blinder of Las Vegas, however. She died Friday from injuries she suffered the day before when an SUV collided with her mother's car at the corner of Hualapai Way and Desert Inn Road. Police say Sharon Rapstad, 57, was traveling south on Hualapai in her 2002 Chevy Suburban when she failed to stop at the stop sign and struck a 1997 Toyota Avalon driven by Dawn Blinder, 35, and carrying her two children. Rapstad's SUV and Blinder's sedan then spun into a 2004 Chevy Silverado pickup driven by Juan Santos, 41.
Blinder's 4-year-old son remained in critical condition at University Medical Center this morning, Metro Sgt. Frank Weigand said.
Other than the children, no one else was injured, police said. Investigators are still looking into what caused the accident. Rapstad had not been cited as of this morning, Weigand said.
No citations were issued in connection with a pedestrian death on Sunday because the pedestrian was at fault, police said.
The Las Vegas man, whose name and age had not been released this morning, died after he was struck by a car while he walked on Rancho Drive near Jones Boulevard, Metro said.
The man was wearing dark clothes while walking north on Rancho about 10:20 p.m., officers said.
He was struck by a 1997 Ford driven by 53-year-old Julio Rodriguez, who officers said did not see the victim until he hit him.
The man died at the scene, officers said. Rodriguez's passenger, 47-year-old Ofelia Mora, was not injured. It was the 95th traffic-related fatality in Metro's jurisdiction this year.
In another accident, 13-year-old Robert Martinez was taken to UMC in critical condition with severe leg injuries after he and two friends were hit by a minivan as they waited with their bikes to cross Windmill Lane.
Police and witnesses said that the Ford Windstar minivan was stopped at a traffic light, waiting to turn east on Windmill Lane across Maryland Parkway. The light changed and the driver, 41-year-old Larry Moss of Las Vegas, did not move until a vehicle behind him honked, witnesses said.
The minivan then sped across the intersection, hit a Cadillac waiting to turn onto Windmill Lane, and ran off the road towards the bike path and three boys on their way home from Jack Lund Schofield Middle School, witnesses said.
Investigators are looking into whether Moss suffered from a medical condition that could have caused the collision, Weigand said.
Aaron McConnell was waiting with his friends on the curb to cross the street when he saw the minivan hit the Cadillac and veer towards them.
"I got off my bike, ran, and I kept running," McConnell said. "My friend, he got caught under the car, and Patrick got hit into the air and fell to the ground."
The two boys were taken to UMC, Martinez in critical condition and the third in moderate condition. Two people in the Cadillac went to St. Rose Dominican Hospitals' Sienna Campus.
Rebecca Hoviss was on her way to pick up her daughters from school when she saw the minivan head towards the bike path and the boys, who are schoolmates with her daughters. She ran to help.
"I just remember a little kid on the bike there and that sign went through his leg," she said of Martinez, who was pinned under the car and against debris. "He was saying, 'Help me with this sign.' "
The minivan driver "didn't even look like he knew what was going on," she said.
Weigand said test results revealed no alcohol in the driver's system, but noted the driver said he was on medication.
"He says he's an epileptic, that he does take medication and never has seizures. But he doesn't remember what happened," Weigand said.
Sun reporters Stephen Curran and Ed Koch contributed to this report.
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