John Ensign U.S. senator suffered minor injuries in morning collision on Paradise Road
U.S. Sen. John Ensign and one of his staff members suffered minor injuries in a head-on collision Monday on Paradise Road near Sands Avenue when a motorist traveling in the opposite direction fell asleep at the wheel, spokesmen for the senator and Las Vegas police said.
"The indication I've got is that it was a head-on, perhaps somebody in the ongoing lane drifted into" the Mercury Mountaineer sport utility vehicle the senator was in, Ensign's spokesman Jack Finn said by phone from Washington, D.C.
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Neither the driver of the Ford Explorer, who police said fell asleep, nor the driver of another vehicle, a Chrysler PT Cruiser that rear-ended the senator's SUV, were taken to the hospital.
Police could not make a report on the accident available Monday but a spokesman, Officer Bill Cassell, said the driver who fell asleep would be charged with a traffic violation such as failing to maintain a travel lane.
Finn said Ensign, a Republican, was in the passenger seat and was being driven to McCarran International Airport when the collision occurred in a southbound lane of Paradise Road.
He said the SUV's air bags deployed when the vehicles collided.
"The collision was pretty intense," Finn said, declining to name the aide who was driving the SUV.
"Both were taken to Sunrise (Hospital) with some bruises and cuts. Both have been awake and alert the whole time," Finn said, about an hour after the 8 a.m. accident.
They were released from the hospital about 11 a.m.
Finn said Ensign, 47, had some stitches in his right arm and was "at home relaxing" Monday afternoon but was "a little sore." The senator was unavailable for comment, he said.
He said Ensign intended to catch a flight later Monday to Washington, D.C., in order to be present for President Bush's State of the Union address today and the Senate vote on Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito.
Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., released a statement, saying he called Ensign's wife, Darlene, as soon as he heard about the accident.
"I am relieved to hear that John's injuries, and his driver's injuries, are not life-threatening. I hope everyone involved in the accident heals quickly," Reid stated.
