Woman hospitalized after fall from semitruck south of Las Vegas

A woman was flown to a Las Vegas hospital after falling from a moving semitruck Thursday afternoon on Interstate 15 near the California-Nevada border.

The 38-year-old woman, who was in the passenger seat, fell about 12:3o p.m. on southbound I-15 near the Jean exit. She remained at University Medical Center in critical condition, according to the Nevada Highway Patrol, which noted that the agency’s fatal traffic team was taking over the investigation.

It remained unclear how or why the woman fell, but the Highway Patrol said the driver remained at the scene and was cooperating with investigators.

A medical evacuation helicopter could be seen on live traffic cameras shortly after 1:05 p.m. next to the semitruck, several ambulances and a firetruck, but it left the scene by 1:25 p.m.

Southbound lanes at the border had been shut down about 45 minutes prior to the helicopter’s landing because of weather conditions and icy roads. It was not clear as of 2:20 p.m. when the highway would reopen.

No other details were immediately available.

Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter.