Logandale Woman Injured In I-15 Crash

By Vernon Robison

Moapa Valley Progress

Logandale resident Tracy Rodgers was seriously injured on Thursday morning, June 23 when the car she was driving collided at highway speed into a tour bus that was stopped in the fast lane near mile marker 97 on Interstate 15.

The accident shredded the front end of the Chevrolet Camaro Rodgers was driving.

Though witnesses at the scene reported that she remained conscious and lucid after the crash, Rodgers sustained critical injuries and was rushed by helicopter to UMC hospital in Las Vegas. She is currently under treatment there for mutiple broken bones and other injuries.

According to Rodgers’ sister, Erica Garrett, Rodgers received broken bones in her right arm, left wrist, her pelvis, her right femur, and her left knee. She also sustained a collapsed lung in the accident. Doctors also found breaks in Rodger’s neck vertebrae but those breaks have been stabilized, Garrett said.

Garrett said that Rodgers spent much of the weekend in surgery and had come out relatively well considering the extent of her injuries. She was expected to receive additional surgery this week.

“With all the force of the crash she didn’t have even one little cut on her face,” Garrett said. “And no internal injuries at all. Looking at what happened to the car I don’t know how that happened. We are just lucky that she is alive.”

The driver of the tour bus that Rodgers hit was trying to make an illegal u-turn in the median and had come to a complete stop in the left lane of I-15, NHP officials said.

The bus, owned by U.S. Asia Casino tours, was headed to Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon and had reportedly gotten off course. Several passengers on the bus were treated for minor injuries. The other 41 passengers were taken to the Moapa Recreation center to get out of the heat and await other transportation.

Responding to the accident were volunteers from Moapa Station 72 and Logandale Station 73 as well as an EMS coordinator who came out from Las Vegas.

The accident caused the virtual closure of the I-15 northbound lanes causing traffic snarls that backed up as far as the Logandale/Overton exit for several hours.

Rodgers is currently the reigning Ms. Nevada United States 2011 and was expected to compete in the Ms. United States pageant next month. Rodgers also won the Mrs. Nevada United States pageant in 2007.