Teen has life-threatening injuries after twins hit by car at bus stop

A 15-year-old boy is fighting for his life after he and his twin brother were hit by a car last week in southwest Las Vegas.

Brandon and Connor Schwabel were standing on the sidewalk at West Ford Avenue and South Chieftain Street at 6:20 a.m. Oct. 29 when they were hit, according to a Las Vegas police accident report. They were waiting for their bus to Spring Valley High School.

A 2012 Nissan Sentra was eastbound on Ford Avenue when it rear-ended a 2011 Audi A4, police said. The driver of the Sentra veered to the right in an attempt to avoid the collision but swerved onto the sidewalk and hit the teens.

Medical personnel said at the time that the brothers were taken to University Medical Center, though there were no serious injuries, the accident report said. But the report was updated Friday to say that the boys’ parents had reported that Brandon Schwabel “has been admitted into UMC Trauma Center Intensive Care Unit and has significant serious injuries that are now being reported as life threatening.”

According to a GoFundMe page for the family, Connor Schwabel was treated for a concussion, some broken ribs and a broken collarbone, then sent home that day.

Brandon Schwabel received 12 staples in his head and was rushed into emergency surgery to treat internal bleeding from his spleen when they arrived at the hospital, according to the GoFundMe page. He’s still in the ICU, suffering from a punctured lung, a lacerated spleen, a lacerated kidney, a lacerated liver, a bruised heart, a broken collarbone, four broken ribs, two cracks in his pelvis and several fractured bones in his spinal column.

Police said impairment was not a factor in the crash, but they suspect Ruby Siordia Del Toro, the driver of the Sentra, was distracted. According to the report, there were no signs that Del Toro attempted to apply the brakes before she hit the Audi, and she was given a ticket for “following too close.”

Del Toro denied being distracted or using her phone at the time of the crash, the report said. The driver of the Audi told police she did not see headlights coming her way before the collision.

The GoFundMe page was set up by a family friend to raise money for Brandon’s medical expenses. As of Monday evening, the page had raised $3,530 of its $50,000 goal.

Contact Alexis Egeland at aegeland@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0335. Follow @alexis_egeland on Twitter.